


Keep Holding On

by ifeellikeiamamidget



Category: Arrow (TV 2012), Glee, The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Barry Allen Needs a Hug, F/M, Parent Barry Allen, Parenthood, Sebastian Smythe is Barry Allen | The Flash
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-22
Updated: 2021-01-18
Packaged: 2021-03-02 18:08:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 30
Words: 62,366
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24321070
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ifeellikeiamamidget/pseuds/ifeellikeiamamidget
Summary: When a body and a kid turn up in the streets of Star City, why do they just so happen to be connected to a certain Scarlet Speedster?, and why are they also attached to a string of murders down in Central City? Can Team Arrow and Team Flash come together and stop these crazed murderers or will the pressure of secrets keep them all divided?
Relationships: Barry Allen & Caitlin Snow, Barry Allen & Cisco Ramon, Barry Allen & Felicity Smoak, Barry Allen & Joe West, Barry Allen & John Diggle, Barry Allen & Oliver Queen, Barry Allen & Original Character(s), Barry Allen & Thea Queen, Barry Allen/Iris West, Barry Allen/Patty Spivot, Blaine Anderson & The Warblers, Cecile Horton/Joe West, Felicity Smoak & Caitlin Snow, Felicity Smoak & Iris West, Hunter Clarington & Sebastian Smythe, John Diggle & Oliver Queen, Kurt Hummel & New Directions, Oliver Queen & Thea Queen, Oliver Queen/Felicity Smoak, Santana Lopez & Sebastian Smythe, Team Arrow (Arrow TV 2012) & Team Flash (The Flash TV 2014)
Comments: 1
Kudos: 61





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoy this book :)

Oliver sighed as he fired another arrow at the man, who just so happened to be shooting bullets at him as he hid behind the stone pillar. He was in the middle of fighting Vigilante when they were suddenly ambushed by these armed men. Vigilante had bolted the moment the men arrived, leaving Oliver to take them on all by himself. Spartan was busy on another floor of the building and had no idea as to what was happening as Oliver’s comms had begun to fluctuate the moment he was face-to-face with Vigilante.

Cursing softly, he stepped away from the pillar once all the guns had stopped. When he stepped out though, he wasn’t expecting to see all of the men laying on the floor, and he definitely did not expect to see a lightning bolt to be burned into the ground just meters away from the bodies. He was surprised at how Barry didn’t bother to stay though, he would usually be bouncing on his heels with excitement whenever he would see Oliver. 

“Oliver, you back with us?” He heard Felicity's question in his comms. At least that was working well again.

“Yeah, I’m back. And remind me to get in touch with Barry” He grumbled in response, running down to where Diggle was waiting next to their motorcycles, he seemed to be just as confused as Oliver was, but anything involving a certain Scarlet Speedster was always confusing him.

“Surprised Barry didn’t stick around to say hi” Diggle remarked as they hopped onto their motorcycles and drove back off to the Foundry, ready to fill Felicity in on the whole situation.

* * *

**Central City**   
**Same time**

Barry groaned as he finished the last slice of his 5th large pizza, he was officially full. Iris and Joe had never given him a hard time about the amounts he had to eat and he was thankful, he didn’t want to hear nasty comments about his eating habits like he used to at C.C.P.D whilst he had Julian in the lab with him. 

Team Flash had all been invited over to Joe’s for a movie night after a horrible day. They had all suffered some awful luck and Cisco even believed for Hazard to have come back from the dead to haunt them all for throwing her into Iron Heights. 

Barry’s phone ringing brought them all out of their conversations. He was shocked to see who it was ringing though, considering the last time he had heard anything Oliver Queen related was when he and Iris were in couples’ therapy and it was announced on the front page that he was indeed, the Green Arrow.

“Hey, Ollie, what’s up?” Barry asked, trying not to sound worried over the phone, when realistically, his mind was buzzing at around 1000 mph with thoughts as to why he would be calling this late.

“What do you mean, ‘what’s up’? You just saved min and Dig’s asses and I want to thank you for it” Barry looked perplexed at the statement. Firstly, Oliver was accusing him of something he didn’t even though, and secondly, Oliver Queen wanted to thank him for it.

“Um, what are you talking about?” He asked, suddenly exiting the lounge and entering the kitchen for a little bit of privacy.

“You really don’t know why I’m thanking you?” Oliver pressed, suddenly becoming unsure on what to think about the mysterious speedster.

“No, I haven’t gotten a clue as to what’s going on” Barry replied, a feeling of dread building up in his system. 

They needed to figure out who that was, and fast.

* * *

**Star City**   
**The next day**

Quentin Lance sighed as he stared at the body in the case file. Someone had decided to give her a bullet to the brain, they have no idea who did it and if they had a motive to kill her as she was an Ex-Detective.

Grumbling, he dialed the only person he could think of to know anything about this, considering he was there last night.

“Oliver, I’m gonna need you to take a look at something” 

* * *

**S.C.P.D [Star City]**   
**40 minutes later**

Oliver casually strode into the building with a random bounce in his step. Since when was Oliver Queen happy? And suddenly seeing the world as the best place ever?

He located Quentin Lance rather quickly, suddenly composing himself as he approached his ex-girlfriend’s father. 

“What did you need me to look at, Sir?” He asked, a general form of maturity suddenly took over and Quentin was quite shocked at how fast the man could change emotions. Quentin pulled out the case file after making sure no-one was looking at them and handed it to the mayor. He watched Oliver’s face contort through multiple emotions, all of them unreadable to the S.C.P.D Captain. 

“How did this happen?” Oliver asked after a moment of shock. He didn’t enjoy looking at the graphic photos of the victim’s body, and it made him want to throw up but he held his composure well, not showing that he was affected by it. 

“Our CSI is too dumb to get an idea on the cause of death, he’s thinking bloodloss, not what caused the massive cuts on the body” Quentin informed him, seeing his skin slowly begin ti change from a slight pale to a slight green tinge.

“Let’s get Barry Allen up here then, he’d know the cause and how many people to look for” Oliver said, closing his eyes to keep his nausea at bay whilst he addressed Quentin. Quentin nodded and shook Oliver’s hand, he trusted Oliver’s opinion on this. If they needed Barry Allen then they’d get him.

* * *

**C.C.P.D**   
**Same time**

Barry sighed as he sat at his computer in his lab. The results on the screen were more than damning, they had a dirty cop and he had trusted said man with a lot of information regarding the victim. He turned back around to the blood analysis machine and decided to clean it, he hadn’t had a case in awhile and he was slowly getting bored. 

“Allen, Captain Singh wants to see you” Officer Larkin informed him, a gentle smile on his face. Officer Larkin was a nice man, he had a wife and two children who he adored very much, and he was an amazing officer in the force. He also looked out for Barry whenever Joe was unable to, it was like he had fatherly instincts to look out for him. 

Barry softly cursed under his breath as he stood up, he never enjoyed being called into Singh’s office. The main reason for that was because he was usually being reprimanded for being late. Maybe that’s why Officer Larkin had to tell him, to help soften the blow a little bit.

“Have you been watching football recently?” Officer Larkin questioned Barry as they left the lab, it was clear he was trying to distract him so he wouldn’t get anxious about why Singh had called him and he would always be grateful for an Officer like him.

As they descended the steps, Barry caught Joe looking at him every now and again, a concerned look on his face as he saw Barry and Larkin head in the direction of Singh’s office. He couldn’t keep his eyes on them for ages though, considering he was in the middle of getting a statement from a very shaken witness.

Larkin left him with his thoughts once they were outside Singh’s office. Barry sighed softly as he knocked on the door and entered when Singh yelled for him to do so.

“You’ve been requested to go to Star City, upon both Captain Lance and Mayor Queen’s request” He told Barry, looking up from his computer to look at his CSI.

“Okay sir” Barry breathed out, Singh knew that his CSI was nervous around him, but it didn’t affect him whilst he did his job, and as long as he did that then he didn’t have an issue with it.


	2. Chapter 2

**Star City**   
**Late afternoon**

Oliver, Felicity, Diggle and Thea were all in the Foundry going over the mission from the previous night. Oliver had explained to them all that it wasn’t Barry, and that they were to keep their eyes open in case their mysterious speedster decided to reveal itself again.

“That also reminds me,” Oliver started, “Barry will be coming up to Star City to help Captain Lance complete a case”

Felicity squealed. She hadn’t seen Barry in so long, she missed her loveable dummy. John just silently prayed that this time would be somewhat normal, as he was constantly reminded that anything involving Barry Allen wasn’t normal.

“Who’s Barry Allen?” Thea asked, she didn’t remember anyone with the name ‘Barry Allen’.

“He’s a good friend of mine, who is the best CSI I’ve ever seen” Oliver explained shortly, prompting Felicity to pull up his record and pictures so she could see who he was on about. Thea looked at the records on the screen, she was surprised that Oliver knew someone who seemed to be very happy.

“I didn’t realise you knew how to compliment people other than yourself” Thea retorted, turning to smirk at her older brother. Oliver just rolled his eyes whilst Felicity high-fived Thea and John just chuckled softly.

Suddenly, a blur of red sped into the room, stopping abruptly in front of Oliver. Thea’s eyes were wide open as she stared at the young man in the room, He. Was. The. Scarlet. Speedster. 

“Secret Identity!” Oliver sneered as he turned towards his sister, seeing the shock on her face. Felicity and John slyly slid out of the room, as much as they wanted to say hello to Barry, they did not want to witness the Queen siblings arguing.

“Oh.. um, oops?” Barry said sheepishly, shrugging his shoulders as he turned towards the younger Queen, who was still in shock.

“You’re-You’re the Flash” She stuttered, a smile creeping up on her face as she looked back and forth between the two vigilantes.

“I hope you know that Ollie just said you’re the best CSI-” She started, being interrupted by her flustered older brother. He knew he was bound to get ridiculed for being embarrassed but he didn’t care, he just wanted Thea to be quiet.

“Speedy, how about you go find Dig and Felicity and tell them that we weren’t arguing” Oliver ordered, glaring at his younger sister until she complied and left the room.

Once she left the room, Oliver sighed and turned back to Barry, who had a small smile on his face, whether it was the compliment Thea had told him he had said or from just seeing the way how he and Thea acted, he didn’t know.

“You asked me to come up here because?” Barry asked when the whole team was back in the room.

“We need your help, Barry”

* * *

**S.T.A.R Labs**   
**The next day**

Caitlin, Cisco, Harry, Joe and Iris were all in S.T.A.R Labs, trying to determine their meta’s next move after a robbery in Mercury Labs. They were having no luck though, especially with Barry all the way in Star City.

“The vic’s name is Johnny Garfield and he was a biochemist in Mercury Labs. He was researching nanotech that could help repair damaged cells that were related to diseases” Joe explained, pointing at Johnny Garfield’s records from his life.

“Why would someone go after someone like him? He seems to be clean” Iris asked, turning towards her father and Caitlin.

“Maybe he was at the wrong place at the wrong time?” Caitlin added, shrugging her shoulders at the whole situation.

Joe shook his head, “There were other biochemists in the room with him and the perp let them live, he was going directly after Johnny for a reason” Joe explained.

That cast the room into an uneasy silence. Harry just simply rolled his eyes and left, not even bothering to comment on the subject whereas Caitlin and Cisco began to converse quietly, trying to find out if Johnny had any enemies they didn’t know about.

Joe and Iris looked at each other, this was going to be difficult to determine a pattern on who the perp was after and who he was.

* * *

**Train Station [Star City]**   
**4;30 pm**

Barry walked around the crime scene, inspecting the entire scene. Whilst the body had been transported to the morgue, Barry had been given special access to both the body and the scene, to take a closer look and find out what their CSI hadn’t been able to find out.

“What have you got for us, Allen?” Quentin asked, he could see the look on the young man’s face meaning he had found something.

“I don’t know how your CSI managed to miss it, but you see the scratches on the post” Barry said, pointing closer to the damaged wall, ”Those belong to something sharp, not like a bullet when they scrape against a wall but like a sword, or better yet a katana”

“You’re after one man, he seems to be wearing size 10 shoes in these footprints and the getaway car is a Corvette, but make sure you’re looking for the most recent model when trying to find him” Barry said simply, taking his gloves off. Quentin and S.C.P.D’s CSI stared at the man in amazement, he just found out more information than they had discovered in 2 hours. Barry Allen was a genius.

“How-how did you do that?” The fellow CSI stuttered, feeling useless compared to him.

“I just don’t have a social life” Barry laughed, smiling at the other CSI.

Quentin led Barry and the other CSI to another part of the building, the place where they suspected the murderer to have entered the building. Whilst the guy had blocked all of the security cameras so he could walk through the building undetected, he still left a lot of evidence behind, which Barry would most definitely pick up on. 

“This is where the guy was supposedly first spotted” Quentin explained, pointing to all of the witnesses that were there being interviewed. Barry nodded and continued to case the environment, it was becoming a habit that he did that thanks to Oliver’s insistent training and reminders to make sure everything was clear before running in blind.

Barry took note of how there were scratches and indentations all around them, as if the guy was purposely leaving them there to show he was there. The lacerations were sharp, there was some blood stained in them and that caught Barry’s attention quicker than he could run. He silently wondered if the other CSI had ever done a blood analysis, if not he would for sure show him how.

“Hey, can you get me a small bit of gauze please” Barry asked as he turned to the other CSI, who happily obliged whilst Quentin came and stood next to the younger man, shocked at how they hadn’t seen it. No wonder Oliver had such faith in the kid.

“I can see why Oliver wanted you up here” Quentin said, startling the younger man, “I didn’t question him, seeing as he’s the mayor, but I was curious as to why he wanted the CSI all the way from Central City to come and be on the case. But I can see why, now”

Barry blushed softly, hiding his head as he assessed the damage on the wall in front of them. The wall seemed to have taken a lot of damage, as if there was a fight here before he even managed to get a hold of his victim. The other CSI returned moments later, the gauze in hand. He handed it to Barry who extracted some of the blood off of the wall and handed it back to the CSI, who was holding a bag for evidence, and turned towards one of the witnesses. 

“Excuse me, but why are you here?” An Officer asked rudely, he had never liked Barry, he was happy to hear that he had been struck by lightning, he was hoping he’d never have to see the kid again.

“Because I requested him,” Oliver said, suddenly appearing at the crime scene. The officer immediately retracted the statement he said moments ago and left the witness with Oliver, Barry and the Captain. He didn’t need to get reprimanded just yet.

“Hi, my name is Barry Allen. I’m a CSI for Central City Police Department” Barry introduced himself to the shaken woman, she seemed to have recognised him though, but she immediately masked that with fear once more. Only Oliver saw the way her facial expression changed when Barry said his name. 

“Do you know anything about the damage over there?” Barry asked, pointing to the wall he took the blood sample from. The lady nodded her head, and Barry looked at Quentin, it was clear he was asking for permission to question her and he nodded his head. He trusted the young man.

“Can you tell me what happened?” Barry asked softly, he pulled out his phone and went onto notes, he was fully prepared to type it all in there if he had to. Quentin coughed, making Barry look up. He sheepishly smiled as he acknowledged the notepad Quentin was holding, a pen pressed against the page as he prepared to write down what the woman would say.

* * *

**C.C.P.D [ Central City]**   
**5;30 pm**

Joe cursed softly as he looked at the test results Barry had emailed him earlier in the day, regarding the dirty cop in the precinct. Joe couldn’t believe it either, they trusted him. Officer Jones had a good heart, he always wanted to make sure that the system was equal for everyone, but it did explain why he was hellbent on making sure Snart was given equal treatment throughout his imprisonment.

“West, where’s Allen?” Singh asked, striding over to Joe.

“You sent him to Star City sir,” Joe replied, “Captain Lance and Mayor Queen had requested him and you allowed for him to go up there”

David stared at Joe in shock, he didn’t remember sending his CSI anywhere. He didn;t even remember receiving a phone call from Quentin Lance, requesting for Barry to be sent there effective immediately. David ignored Joe’s concerned look and strode into his office, sitting down at his desk and putting his head in his hands.

Why couldn’t he remember anything?


	3. Chapter 3

**S.T.A.R Labs [Central City]**   
**2 days later**

After catching Barry up on everything he had missed, they all decided to catch up on all the training they had missed whilst he was in Star City.

Barry loved the way the lightning communicated with the blood in his body, the way he could feel the sparks of energy crackling away. He loved how grounded the speed-force had made him. The speed-force had helped him come to peace with losing his mom, it helped center him in his darkest days. Not to mention, the adrenaline rush it gave him after he saved people over the course of the day made him feel like he was on top of the world. Nothing could ever bring him down after a high from the boosted energy in his systems.

Cisco admired the speedometer on his monitor, he loved how satisfying it was to watch the numbers steadily rise, not to mention it always blew him away at how fast his friend truly was. It was days like this that helped Cisco grasp the full scope of how his best friend had been named the ‘fastest man alive’.

“How are his vitals?” Cisco asked, turning to face Caitlin who had a smile a mile wide on her face as she monitored Barry’s vitals. 

“They’re perfect.” She replied, focusing her gaze onto the man speeding around the speed lab. The yellow lightning gave a warmth to the room, it made it feel homely. 

To think, 4 years ago they were only just starting out. Barry had just awoken from his coma and the world didn’t even know who this ‘streak’ was. It wasn’t until Snart challenged Barry very publicly that the world finally knew who was the guardian angel to the city. 

Iris waltzed in moments later, she really wanted Barry’s opinion on a story she had been writing but instead, she became enticed in the way the lightning zipped around the room, almost like a continuous circle around the facility. 

“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” Caitlin asked, she had grown accustomed to admiring Barry’s lightning that trailed behind him over the years. 

All Iris could do was nod, the sight took her breath away.

Barry sped into the main section of the lab moments later, looking slightly pale from a drop in glucose but all in all, they could tell if he could, he would do that for hours on end if he didn’t have a pesky metabolism.

Cisco chucked Barry a calore bar whilst he turned to Iris, only slightly out of breath from the amount of running he just did. Iris chuckled as he devoured the calore bar within seconds, the paleness he had suddenly vanishing as if it was never there. The smile on his face was the best thing she had ever seen, ever since he had come back from the speed-force, he had come to grips with everything he had lost over the years, he was finally at peace with his mind and himself. 

“How was it?” She asked softly, wrapping her arms around his neck. He smiled and brought their bodies closer together, the smile just growing on his face. 

“It was amazing” He replied, sneaking a quick kiss off of his girlfriend. She giggled softly and kissed him, with much more passion than she intended on. He quickly reciprocated, pulling her even closer to his chest. 

“Did it ever feel this awkward after you used to walk in on me and Ronnie kissing?” Caitlin whispered to Cisco, giggling at his horrified face as he looked like he wanted to desperately leave the room. 

Iris and Barry pulled away moments later, smiles on both of their flushed faces. It was clear that they loved each other, anyone could see how happy they made each other.

“Now that you two are done making out, let's see how fast you were going, Barry” Cisco yelled, motioning for them to join him and Caitlin at the computers.

“Come, come. Join Cisco at the computer” He exclaimed, rolling his eyes as he caught Barry and Iris looking at each other with so much love. He had nothing against either of them, he really didn’t but ever since Gypsy left, he hadn’t enjoyed seeing the couple be all ‘lovey-dovey’ together. Barry eyed the monitor in shock as he stared at how fast he had been running. He had never gone that fast, not even when he was chasing after Iris the day he came back from the speed-force. 

“I’ve never gone that fast” He muttered under his breath, a smile, that was mainly induced from shock, was on his face.Iris squeezed his hand, her own body in shock of how fast he had gone. No wonder he was so surprised at the results. 

“Team Flash, report to the cortex” Harry Wells’ voice blasted through the speakers all over the building. They all turned to each other and left the room as a group, not really sure what to prepare themselves for.

* * *

**C.C.P.D [Central City]**   
**9:30 pm**

The precinct was quiet at this time of night, not many officers usually worked the night shift, but there were still a couple there. That’s why it was so easy for him to slip into the CSI’s lab upstairs. Officer Jones quietly walked around the lab, he didn’t want to attract attention. 

He scanned the room, eyeing Barry’s computer. Officer Jones walked over to it, grabbing the USB from his pocket and stuck it into the computer. It logged him in, allowing him access to Barry’s files. Grinning, he found the one he was looking for. The C.C.P.D database. His computer didn’t have access to that just yet, with him only being a junior on the force and all. 

Scanning the file, he found the name he was looking for. He pulled his phone out and called a blocked number, glad that the person answered.

“We’re looking for Detective Patty Spivot. She lives in Star City”

* * *

**S.C.P.D [Star City]**   
**1:27 am**

Patty grabbed the last of her belongings on her desk. It was official, she was no longer a detective for the S.C.P.D. She had moved to Star City after leaving Midway once she completed her CSI training. As much as she worked forensics for the department, she was only treated as a detective, but as a good detective. There were rumours floating around the precinct that a forensics specialist had been called to help with a homicide only 2 days ago, as Patty had asked for those days off. Her 2-year-old son needed her, and thankfully, Quentin Lance was an understanding man, and granted her the time off. Whether it was because he had his own children or not, she didn’t exactly know.

“I can’t believe you’re leaving” The S.C.P.D CSI said. Over the months of her employment in the department, the two had become incredibly close.   
“I know, but I’ve got a two year old who needs all my attention right now” She explained, a tight smile forming on her face as she saw how her colleague tensed at the reminder. He had attempted to ask her out before he had discovered that she had a son. The only reason she said no was because she knew he didn’t want kids just yet. 

“What are you going to do, money wise?” He asked.

“Well, my mom has offered to help me raise him” Patty replied, glancing over to her almost bare desk, seeing a photo of her and Barry a month before she had left Central City. She missed that man with all of her heart, but he refused to say that he loved her and admit to being the Scarlet Speedster. 

The CSI nodded, a tight smile forming on his face as he waved goodbye to her and walked off. Patty knew every nuance of the quirky CSI, so she didn’t think anything of his erratic behaviour.

“Patty Spivot.. You’re coming with me”


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The song used is James Arthur's, 'Empty Space'

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you all don't mind me making this an Arrow, Flash and Glee crossover. I've got a lot of ideas for this. Also. This is now the sequel to my story 'Unsteady' and 'Paralyzed'. I am going to upload those stories on to here as soon as I can but right now, they are only uploaded on Fanfiction.Net and Wattpad.

**West-Allen Loft**   
**4:32 am**

Barry groaned as he heard baby Jenna cry. He and Iris offered to babysit her for Joe and Cecile whilst they had a little time to themselves. Iris was so lucky she was a deep sleeper. He slowly rolled out of bed and entered their spare guest room, where they had set up a makeshift nursery for the 1 year-old. Jenna was staring at him with wide eyes as he flipped the light on and walked towards the crib.

“Haven’t you heard of sleep?” Barry joked, picking her up out of the crib and walking towards the chair they had put in on the far end of the room. As much as he enjoyed his sleep, he loved spending time with his baby sister, no matter how much she woke him up throughout the night.

“I wonder if you’ll be able to sing as good as your father” Barry asked Jnena, bouncing her up and down slightly. A smile lit up on his face as he heard her laugh.

It was a miracle really how she switched from crying to laughing in seconds, she really was related to Iris with that technique. After she finished laughing, she began to get tired once more, making Barry chuckle lightly. He put Jenna on to his chest, letting her rest her head against his neck as he sang to her, rocking her slightly.

**Barry**   
_I’m alone in my head_   
_And lookin’ for love in this stranger’s bed_   
_But I don’t think I’ll find it_   
_‘Cause only you could fill this empty space_   
_I wanna tell all my friends_   
_But I don’t think they would understand_   
_It’s something I’ve decided_   
_‘Cause only you could fill this empty space_

Iris smiled from the doorway as she watched Barry sing Jenna back to sleep. Thank God they had decided to put security cameras in there so she could send the footage over to her father. After Barry put the now sleeping child back into the crib, she walked into the room and wrapped her arms around Barry’s waist, squeezing softly. He chuckled lightly and turned around to face her, wrapping his arms around her shoulders and bringing her to his chest.

“I love you, Iris Ann West” Barry sighed, kissing the top of Iris’ head. 

“Allen” She said, pulling away from the embrace slightly. From the puzzled look on his face, she continued, “I’ve always been Iris West-Allen” 

He smiled, unable to control the happiness he felt inside him. He loved Iris with all of his heart, nothing could make him change his mind.

“I’ve always been yours” She added, dragging him back into the bedroom and laying down on the bed. She smiled as Barry smirked at her.

* * *

**The Foundry [Star City]**   
**The next day**

“So, Quentin really has no idea who would want Patty?” Felicity asked. She had pulled up the security footage from the precinct last night, upon Oliver’s request and had played the footage for them.

“Not a clue” He replied, sighing as he rewatched the scene unfold. 

The security footage showed a man, electricity was bouncing off of him, and he had a mask on. He was waiting for their CSI to leave Patty alone before he made his move. Once the CSI had left, the man approached Patty, his voice contorted as he vibrated his vocal cords. Team Arrow watched in horror as the man grabbed Patty by the throat, catching the officers who were in the room with her. They had their guns drawn within seconds, but as the bullets fired, the man caught them all, letting them drop to the floor. A detective walked in moments later, his phone calling Quentin as he made himself known to the man. It was clear the man was a speedster. The man threw Patty against her desk, he then sped around the room, collecting the other officers’ guns and throwing them into a box, far away from anyone’s reach. He then turned his focus back onto the lone detective, he clicked his neck and got ready, prepared to battle the man. He put up a good fight, he had managed to land a few punches on the speedster but he wasn’t a match for him. He snapped the detective’s neck, smirking underneath his mask as Patty slowly rose from her desk, her head bleeding from where she had smacked it against one of the draws. He knew she had given in, not wanting to be the cause of anyone else’s death. The other officers watched in shock as he sped around the bullpen once more, this time, he was throwing all of their case files into a pile. Patty watched as he grabbed some chemicals from the science lab, pouring them all onto the files. Next, he ran back to Patty’s desk, this time grabbing the photo of her and Barry and adding it into the mix. Once they were all covered in the chemicals, he threw a lightning bolt at the pile, laughing as they all went up in flames. Then, he grabbed Patty and ran out of the building, leaving the officers to deal with the body and the burning case files.

“Should we call Team Flash?” Thea asked, taking her eyes away from the monitors at the front of the room.

“No, Barry’s already got a lot on his plate right now” Oliver answered, truth be told, he did want to call Barry, but the speedster wasn’t after Barry so far, so there was no need to involve them.

“Ollie, you cannot go up against that thing!” Thea exclaimed, she did not want to lose her brother again. 

“I can, and I will. End of discussion” He stated, walking out of the room. 

John, Felicity and Thea all turned to each other. There was no way he could survive going up against that speedster. They needed Barry, but they knew if they called him up here, Oliver would send him right back to Central City.

* * *

**Lima, Ohio**   
**The same time**

Stacey smiled as she walked around the new house her father had bought. After he and her mom had split up, her mom had gone back to France, she had always loved to live there. Her room was similar to the old one she had back in Westerville. It was pink, the walls were littered with posters of her favourite boy bands, and she had a large flat screen Tv resting on her wall. She had LED lights trailing both the bottom and the top of the walls as well as a massive S on her wall which lit up. 

She missed Barry. After everything that had happened with the whole Hunter situation, he hadn’t called or texted her, and she was upset. It was like he had dropped off the end of the world once more. She had heard from Thad that he and Blaine and some of the others were thinking of going to Central City and seeing how he was doing, especially since the whole Hunter situation and with him losing his dad and all.

“Hey, Stace, Thad’s looking for you” Alan said, popping his head into the large office/study she had found herself in. Smiling, she perked up and left the room, walking down the stairs to where Thad was, and he seemed stressed.

“What’s up, Thaddeus?” She asked, frowning when he didn’t even retort against the name she had called him.

“Hunter’s back”

* * *

**S.T.A.R Labs [Central City]**   
**3:30 pm**

Caitlin entered the speedlab to find Wally sitting there, his head in his hands. Apparently, after having a dream of having super speed, he had decided to go and stand in the front of a car. Joe had walked into the Cortex moments later, a very stressed Scarlet Speedster following. They had no clue who had saved Wally’s life, but whoever did had super speed too, and they were all just relieved that Wally was alive. According to Joe, the verbal beatdown Barry had given the younger West was enough so he didn’t have to get involved. 

“You okay?” Caitlin asked, sitting down next to the younger man.

“I get why Barry yelled at me, but I wish he would stop acting like my father and start acting like my big brother again” Wally explained quietly, pulling his head up to look at Caitlin. The Doctor looked at Wally with sympathetic eyes, she knew that Barry could be overprotective when the ones he loved were in danger.

“Barry is very protective over the ones he loves” Caitlin explained, “After he lost his dad, he just wants everyone else to feel safe”

Wally nodded, smiling at Caitlin. He could see why she and Barry were best friends, they lifted each other up in the worst times. 

“Thanks, Caitlin,” He said, standing up. He offered her his hand to help her up, which she took gratefully.

* * *

**Dalton Academy [Ohio]**   
**4:54 pm**

Stacey listened to what Thad explained to Nick, Jeff and David. They had come together and formed a little group to alert each other if Hunter or that Thawne guy appeared so they could tell Barry. They wanted to protect their home as much as they could.

“So, he just randomly turned up at his old house?” David asked. He was seated next to Nick and Jeff, who were too busy making out rather than paying attention.

Thad nodded, groaning as he had to split Nick and Jeff apart once more. They were seriously getting on his nerves right now, and Stacey and David could tell he was going to explode soon.

“Why would he risk going back there?” Stacey asked, turning her attention away from the couple and back to Thad. He simply shrugged, standing up and going towards the computer they had installed in the commons room. Just before Team Flash had left, Thad had approached both Felicity and Cisco and they were willing to help install some more technology into the school so if anyone, namely Hunter or Eoabrd, were to return then they’d be able to make sure Barry knew just before.

“I tried getting into the security footage but it just didn’t work” Thad groaned as he pulled up the desktop onto the huge monitor in the room. Stacey simply rolled her eyes and pushed Thad out of the way, getting to work at accessing the security footage.

David smirked as Stacey successfully got into the system, he always knew that she was more than just being Sebastian Smythe’s little sister. 

“Well, whatever he was doing there, isn’t on the footage” Stacey sighed, “he scrubbed the footage”

“What are we gonna do?”


	5. Chapter 5

**C.C.P.D [Central City]**   
**The next day**

David Singh stood in front of all of the officers he had. Quentin Lance had just informed him on the situation up there, regarding ex-detective Patty Spivot. 

“Can I have your attention please?” He asked, glad everyone had stopped murmuring. 

The bullpen was silent as they waited for the news Singh was about to tell them. Joe was standing next to Officer Larkin, who seemed just as confused as they all did. Joe was more confused as to why Singh had specifically asked him to keep Barry in the lab during this debriefing. 

“I have just been informed that Ex-Detective Patty Spivot was taken from her job in Star City last night. I have decided that I will be asking for you all to keep an eye out for her here” David explained, making Joe’s eyes go wide. No wonder he didn’t want Barry down here, “if any of you know anything about who could’ve taken her and where she might be, please alert either myself or Captain Lance in Star City”

Joe nodded numbly at Singh’s words. He had no idea how his son would react to this news.   
“Now, whatever you do.. Just do not tell Allen, he does not need to find out that his ex-girlfriend has gone missing” Singh had said to Joe once everyone else had left

“I won't, Captain” Joe reassured. David nodded in gratitude and headed back towards his office. 

Officer Larkin looked at Joe, he didn’t know that Barry had dated Patty, but the more he thought about it, he could see how close the CSI and Detective were, and he could even remember watching them flirt every now and again. 

“Do you think she’s alive?” Larkin asked Joe, a grim look on his face as he saw the look on the older man’s face. Joe just shrugged and walked back to his desk, leaving Officer Larkin standing in the bullpen all alone.

* * *

**S.T.A.R Labs [Central City]**   
**12:30 pm**

Cisco was busy in his lab when Harry walked in, a frown on his face. He walked over to Cisco, not caring that he was in the middle of doing something very technical.

“Ramon, I need your help with something” Harry said, placing these gauntlets down onto the desk. Cisco jumped from shock as he was too focused on whatever he was working on.

“Can’t you see that I’m working?” Cisco bit back, turning his attention back to the device he was working on. He was remaking the B.O.O.T, editing it so not only would it keep the Metas in place as they were clamped down to the ground, but it would negate their powers and administer a sedative that was powerful enough to keep them relaxed if the clamping mechanism was to fail.

“Yes, I can see that you’re working but I want your help, Ramon” Harry continued, taking the screwdriver out of Cisco’s hand and throwing it across the lab. 

Cisco stood up, his face showing how hurt he was by the action. How dare he come into his lab, ask for his help, and then chuck his belongings around the room because he refused to help him. This is why he hated Harrison Wells from Earth-2.

“Do you not have any respect for people back on your earth?” Cisco yelled, throwing his arms up. He brought them back down to his sides as Harry stared at him.

“You help me with this, and I’ll leave you alone for the rest of the day” He said, beginning to walk out of the room.

“Are you going back to your Earth? ‘Cause I’ll breach you there right now!” Cisco yelled at him.

“I’ll breach you there right now!” Harry mocked, but he was on a higher pitch.

“That’s not what I sound like” Cisco mumbled to himself, going over to where his screwdriver laid on the floor. 

* * *

**S.C.P.D [Star City]**   
**2:19 pm**

Oliver stared at the body splayed in the bullpen of the precinct as Quentin informed him on as much information as he could. 

“That’s all we know, so far” Quentin explained, sighing as he saw where Oliver’s gaze was.

The man that had been attacked used to work for Queen Consolidated when Oliver was growing up, he had acted like a father to him more than his actual father did.

“You okay?” Quentin asked Oliver, seeing the green tinge on the man’s face. He didn’t understand as to why he continued to turn up to every crime scene when he knew that someone had been murdered. It didn’t make sense as it continued to make him feel sick at the sight of the bodies. 

“What was the name of the Detective that was taken?” Oliver asked, changing the subject. Quentin just sighed, he knew Oliver always covered up his feelings so he wasn’t too surprised when he switched topics.

“Detective Patty Spivot” Quentin replied, making Oliver’s eyes go wide.

“You know who she is?” Quentin questioned, maybe just maybe he knew who might’ve taken her.

“She’s Barry’s ex-girlfriend” He replied, dread entering his system.

* * *

**Lima, Ohio**   
**3:31 pm**

Quinn sighed as she entered Lima Bean. She had just told her boyfriend that she had a daughter with another man and he had split with her, claiming she was a slut for having a baby in high school. Yes, she had slept with her boyfriend’s best friend and he was the father but it wasn’t an intentional pregnancy. She had gotten drunk and Puck had exploited her drunken state and it just happened. 

“You okay?” A familiar voice asked. She looked up, surprised to see Stacey in front of her. Quinn nodded, putting a small smile on her face to look convincing. Stacey saw right through it though.

“What’s wrong?” Stacey asked, sitting down in front of the New Directions alumni. 

“My boyfriend just ended things with me” She sighed, her gaze going back on to her coffee cup.

“Well, he’s stupid for doing that to such an amazing woman” Stacey said, smiling as she checked the time. She was supposed to meet her dad at McKinley in a half hour.

“Y’know, no-one would ever think how nice Sebastian Smythe’s little sister is compared to how he used to act in high school” Quinn said, a genuine smile plastering her face as she looked at the younger Smythe. Stacey giggled, standing up.

“I’m meant to meet my dad at McKinley so I have to go,” She said, waving to Quinn as she walked off.

Quinn smiled to herself as she mulled over the compliment Stacey had given her, she really was such a nice girl.

* * *

**West Household**   
**5:42 pm**

Joe was sitting on the sofa holding his daughter when Barry stormed in, he seemed annoyed. Cecile walked in moments later and took Jenna from Joe, she could tell that the men were about to have a conversation neither one of them wanted to have.

“When were you going to tell me?” Barry’s voice got caught in his throat but he pushed through it, blinking rapidly to hide the tears burning in his eyes.

“Tell you what?” Joe asked hesitantly, slowly standing up from the sofa to try and give comfort to the younger man.

“That Patty’s been kidnapped” He replied, his whole body was trembling from both fear and anger as he stared at his foster father.

“Bear--” Joe sighed, taking his gaze away from the Scarlet Speedster.

“When were you going to tell me, Joe?” Barry’s voice broke as he spoke to Joe. This is exactly why Singh hadn’t wanted him to find out about it, because he knew Barry would react similar to this and then he’d force himself to work over the top to make sure he would find her.

“Who told you?” Joe asked instead, avoiding the question altogether.

“Oliver did..” Barry’s voice was tight as he spoke, “Then Larkin confirmed it”

Joe sighed, he knew Officer Larkin could never keep a secret if it involved friends or family, he was just too sympathetic. Instead of answering Barry’s previous question, he pulled his son in for a hug, surprised at how Barry didn’t even bother to fight against the embrace. Joe rubbed his back as he felt Barry’s tears drip down his neck and on to his shirt. 

“We’ll find her..” Joe reassured, rocking Barry slowly. 

They better find her, Joe thought. He had no idea how much longer he could keep this secret in.


	6. Chapter 6

**West Household**   
**Same time**

Joe held Barry for as long as he could, he needed to provide comfort for him. He hated seeing Barry upset, it was just the worst thing ever, especially after he lost his mother at such a young age.

“Shhh.. you’re okay” Joe whispered in his son’s ear, still rocking the two of them. 

The tears stopped a couple minutes later, but Barry still remained huddled close to Joe, trying to get some strength back into his body. Joe didn’t mind though, he liked hugging his son, as long as it helped him. 

They pulled away moments later, Barry’s face red and swollen from the tears that had cascaded down his face only minutes ago. It was clear he was far more worried about Patty than he was angry at Joe for hiding that from him. Ultimately, he had no idea for when he would’ve told Barry about Patty’s situation. 

As Barry went to move to the door, Joe grabbed his arm, keeping him from leaving the house. 

“I’m gonna go to S.T.A.R Labs,” Barry said quietly, looking at the ground, “I need to clear my head”

Joe nodded. At least he wasn’t going after Patty himself. Captain Singh had shown him the security footage from S.C.P.D precinct and the man who had kidnapped Patty reminded him of Zoom and he did not want his son to end up beaten within an inch of his life again.

“You and Iris should come over for dinner,” Joe said, letting go of Barry’s arm.

Barry nodded and looked up, the redness from his face already disappearing as he looked at his foster father. Joe smiled at Barry, a warmth spreading across his chest as Barry smiled back at him. 

When Barry left moments later, in a flash, Joe turned to Cecile. He hadn’t even realised she had entered the room until he heard Jenna cry.

“You’ve gotta tell him, Joe” She said, a disapproving look on her face.

* * *

**S.T.A.R Labs [Central City]**   
**6:57 pm**

Wally looked concerned as he entered the speedlab and found Barry still running around the track. Caitlin had called him 30 minutes ago, explaining how Barry seemed off and how he refused to take a break from running around the track. Wally had tried asking his dad but he didn’t answer his texts or calls and he knew he would just worry Iris if he told her so he decided to just come down to the lab and see how Barry was doing.

He watched in amazement as the lightning that trailed behind Barry lit up the tunnel, he may have been angry and jealous of Barry for having superspeed but he didn’t care anymore, it relaxed him watching as the red and yellow contrasted the whole room into an assortment of various shades and colours. 

“Barry, you’re gonna be late for family dinner,” Wally called, surprised when Barry actually came to a stop in front of him seconds later. Wally took in his older brother’s appearance. He was pale, the only colour on his face was the flush on his cheeks from how long he had been running. His breathing was laboured as he brought excessive amounts of oxygen into his system. As Wally got a closer inspection on Barry’s face, he saw his eyes were glossed over, and his eyes were bloodshot. He looked ill.

“You okay?” Wally asked, surprised at how Barry simply shook his head and flashed away, leaving Wally alone with his thoughts as he stared at where Barry once was. That was weird.

Wally sighed and left the room, he’d just ask his dad about it tonight when Barry and Iris leave.

* * *

**Foundry [Star City]**   
**7:03 pm**

Oliver groaned as he hopped down from the Salmon ladder. He hadn’t eaten since he began training, and he had begun training at 4:30. 

“About time you finished, Captain Lance called” Diggle said as Oliver approached him, a towl wrapped around his shoulders as he wiped his sweat away.

“What did he want?” Oliver asked, grabbing the bottle of water on the desk.

“They found a body, down in Ohio,” Diggle began, hesitating when everyone turned to face him, “they think it’s Patty..”

Oliver’s heart stopped. How was he supposed to tell Barry if it was her? Barry had almost broken down over the phone when he found out that Patty had been taken. How was he supposed to tell his best friend that the girl he used to love was dead? Sure, he was with Iris now, she was the actual love of his life, but how was he supposed to tell him? Regardless of who he’s dating.

“You’ll never believe what I just found out!” Thea yelled as she walked into the room, she seemed more shocked than angry though.

“Patty has a two-year-old son..”

* * *

**West household [Central City]**   
**8:54 pm**

Cecile, Joe, Barry, Iris and Wally were all sitting at the dining room table when Jenna began crying very loudly. Cecile sighed and stood up, going to her daughter. The West family sat in an awkward silence as Wally shared looks between both his father and his brother.

“Barry, you sure you’re okay?” Iris asked, rubbing his arm as he just moved his food around on his plate, “is it Flash business?”

Barry just shook his head, his gaze focused on his plate whilst his mind was a million miles away. He just hoped Patty was okay.

“I have to go to the bathroom,” He said abruptly, standing up and throwing his cutlery against the plate. Joe sighed as Barry walked away, he knew his son was scared for Patty.

Both Iris and Wally turned to Joe, expecting an answer about Barry’s behaviour. 

“Patty’s gone missing, and he’s kinda not been himself ever since he found out” Joe said, and Wally saw Iris stop tensing. Did she know something he and her father didn’t?

“So, he didn’t find out about--?” Iris asked, whispering to her father. 

Joe shook his head, smiles plastering both of their faces as Cecile walked in moments later, Baby Jenna in her arms. She passed her off to Joe, who smiled as Jenna opened her eyes and looked at her dad.

When Barry walked into the room moments later, there were tears burning in his eyes, and his phone was in his hand. His whole body was shaking, it was clear he was struggling to keep himself composed in front of them all.

“Babe? You okay?” Iris asked, standing up to go to her boyfriend. Barry simply stuck his hand out, he did not want any comfort right now. He just wanted answers.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Barry’s voice broke as he looked directly at Joe. Iris turned to her father with fear in her eyes as Wally observed the whole scene. What was going on with his family right now?

“Barry.. What’s going on?” Joe asked, passing Jenna back to Cecile as he stood up to move to his son.

“You knew I had a son” Barry answered, anger laced in his voice.

Joe and Iris both froze. Wally and Cecile looked at each other, uncertainty in their eyes as the room went into silence. 

“How did you find out?” Iris asked after a beat, making Barry turn to her, betrayal written all over his face.

Iris knew. The freaking love of his life kept a son from him.Why would they do that? They were supposed to be his family and they just lied to him.

“You knew?” Barry asked, his eyes really glossy as he tried to keep his tears from falling. Iris tried to approach Barry, only for him to step away. Iris looked hurt at the action.

“Did anyone else know?” Barry asked, his voice shaking as he turned his attention back onto his foster father.

“Cisco and Caitlin did..” Joe replied and Barry’s breathing hitched. His own best friends knew and they didn’t tell him? 

“Barry--” Joe began as Barry went to the door. He did not want his son to leave just yet, he wanted to explain his side of things.

“Don't,” Barry warned, turning his body so he could look at everyone once more.

“Just.. don’t” Barry said weakly, leaving the house and speeding off somewhere. 


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I do not own the song in the chapter

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The song is Lean on me. Ngl, I dunno who's it originally by. I've only listened to the glee version.

**Star City**   
**30 minutes before**

Oliver paced around the Foundry impatiently as he waited for Quentin. After learning about Patty’s son, he had called Quentin and requested for him to come to the Foundry so he could ask him if he knew about the child and decided not to tell him.

“You rang?” Quentin asked, walking into the room.

Oliver stopped pacing and turned to the Captain. He put a gentle smile on his face as he sucked in a breath.

“Does Patty have a son?” Oliver asked, waiting for Quentin’s response. Quentin sighed and reluctantly nodded, and that confirmed his fears.

“The father’s been out of the picture since he was born” Quentin added, shocked at how Oliver tensed. Why did this concern him so much?

“I’ve got to make a phone call” He replied sheepishly, leaving the room.

“Wait, does this have any connection with how Detective West knows?” Quentin yelled after a moment, surprised when Oliver walked back into the room, his phone at his ear.

“Hey, Barry--” Oliver started.

* * *

**McKinley High School [Ohio]**   
**The next day**

Mr. Schuster sighed as he entered the choir room. It had not been a good day for him and he knew some of the kids were at odds with each other. When he realised how silent it was, he was surprised to find none of his students there, however, in their place, was one man. 

“Where’s Sebastian Smythe?” The man growled, grabbing Mr. Schuster by the throat.

Mr. Schuster grabbed the hand at his throat, trying to get the man to release the grip he had on his neck. The man just smirked, and he loosened his grip a little bit. Will gasped in relief as breathing became marginally better. 

“I.. d-don’t.. Know” Will choked out, gasping for air.

“If you see him, make sure he knows that I have his kid!” The man sneered, letting go of Will. He laughed as Will struggled to get air into his body from his crushed windpipe. 

“Who-who are you?” Will gasped, his eyes full of pain darting up to the mysterious man.

“I’m the ‘God of Speed’, but you can call me Savitar” He said, speeding out of the room, leaving Will on the floor. 

* * *

**Lima [Ohio]**   
**Last night**

Blaine looked at the huge double bed as he got changed for bed. He and Kurt were taking a break from each other, as they weren’t seeing eye-to-eye on certain topics. 

Just as he was about to climb into bed, a soft knock on his door made him jump. Why was someone at his door at 2:22 am? He slowly moved towards the door, checking his apartment as he went, he didn’t know if this was a setup for a robbery or not. He was a famous man after all.

“Blaine..” A soft voice spoke, making Blaine’s posture soften. He walks faster to the door, looking through the peephole, surprised to see Barry heavily slumped against the doorframe.

He unlocked the door, concern shining in his eyes as he took in Barry’s appearance. The man was soaked, obviously from the awful rain they were experiencing, they lived in Ohio after all. He was deathly pale, and shivering terribly, he looked really sick. The bags under the man’s eyes were extremely noticeable against the pallor of his skin, his eyes were also very bloodshot. He quickly helped Barry enter the apartment, helping him walk to the couch in the middle of the room.

“Seb? What’s wrong?” He asked, grabbing a random blanket and wrapping it around the shivering man. He sat down beside Barry, letting him lean against him.

“I-I can’t be in Central right now.. I-I just c-can’t..” Barry said, looking down at the ground. Blaine sighed and wrapped an arm around Barry, holding closer to his side. He rubbed small circles into Barry’s side as he hummed softly, trying to calm him down. 

**Blaine**   
_Lean on me_   
_When you’re not strong_   
_And I’ll be your friend_   
_I’ll help you carry on_   
_For it won’t be long_   
_‘Til I’m gonna need_   
_Somebody to lean on_

Blaine’s voice was soft and caring as he sang to Barry, a small smile on his face as he felt Barry start to relax in his hold. 

**Blaine**   
_Please_   
_Swallow your pride_   
_If I have things_   
_You need to borrow_   
_For no-one can fill_   
_Those of your needs_   
_That you won’t let show_

He chuckled softly as he noticed Barry had started to drift off to sleep, his body being held up by Blaine. Blaine leaned Barry back against the couch, standing up so he could get him a change of clothes. As he walked back into the room, a pair of clean clothes in his hands, he wasn’t surprised to see Barry completely asleep on his couch. He sighed softly as he approached the sleeping man, he didn’t need him getting sick. 

“Bas..” He said gently, shaking the man softly. Barry groaned but kept his eyes closed as he yawned.

“Wh’t do you w’nt?” He mumbled slowly, not fully awake just yet. He felt Blaine sit him upright but he stayed slumped against his friend, the strength to hold his body up was long gone. 

“Let’s get you out of these disgusting clothes” Blaine recommended, taking the drenched blanket off of Barry. He whined as the one thing keeping him warm was suddenly stripped from him.

“Kurt’s rubbing off on you” Barry complained softly, his eyes finally fluttering open. He blinked slowly as he attempted to keep himself awake, just so he could get himself changed without any assistance.

“I like these clothes.. They’re nice” Barry insisted, starting to push himself up from leaning against Blaine. Blaine snorted as Barry finally realised that his ‘nice’ clothes were soaked. He was glad that Barry never turned into Sebastian after being woken up. You would think he would be angry and grumpy after being woken up but he wasn’t. In fact, he just got on with being awake and sorted himself out so he could fall back asleep. 

Barry reluctantly stood up, swaying on his feet slightly before he stumbled into the bathroom so he could change in peace. Blaine scanned the area Barry had been splayed on the couch. There was a huge wet patch from his clothes and the blanket was no doubt soaked as well, that would need to go in the wash along with Barry’s clothes.

“Thanks..” Barry whispered as he reentered the living room, too tired to speak normally to his friend. Blaine nodded and took Barry’s wet clothes from him, putting them next to the rogue blanket. 

“You’re not sleeping on the couch” Blaine said as he noticed Barry start walking towards the couch. He grabbed him by the arm and walked with him into his bedroom, where Barry’s phone was after Blaine had found it for him. He had left it outside his door.

Barry looked at Blaine, confusion in his eyes. He was surprised that only a little bit of the room had Kurt’s belongings in. Where was Kurt? Blaine knew he was going to ask, so he simply shook his head at Barry’s unvoiced question and guided him on to the side of the bed that was usually Kurt’s. It would’ve been too lonely for him anyway to sleep in that bed by himself.

“Get some sleep, Bas” Blaine said, turning the lights out in the bedroom and sliding into his side of the bed.

“Thank you..” Barry mumbled once more, drifting off to sleep as his head touched the pillow.

“It’s all going to be okay, Bas” Blaine whispered, closing his eyes, falling asleep himself.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lets just say the ending had me with tears in my eyes :(

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a slight trigger warning for the ending of the chapter.

**S.T.A.R Labs**   
**The next morning**

“Then, Barry just took off,” Joe sighed as he listened to his daughter retell the story to the other members of Team Flash. Wally just rolled his eyes as Caitlin and Cisco turned to each other, concern rather than guilt in his eyes.

“Maybe if you had told him he had a son to begin with, then maybe this wouldn’t have happened” Wally growled, standing up. He was angry with his dad and sister. They had no right to keep Barry from his own son, especially after he never got to grow up with his own dad. It made him think though, if they were hiding that from Barry, then what else could they be potentially hiding from the young man.

“Wally..” Joe sighed, he did not want to have this discussion with Wally again. Last night, Wally hadn’t been open enough to hear him out, there was no way he’d be open to hear him out now.

“You didn’t have a valid enough reason to keep Barry from his own kid!” Wally argued. If Barry wasn’t going to yell at them, then he’d yell at them for him. 

“Please, don’t start this again” Iris begged, she really just wanted to know where Barry was, just so she knew he was okay. He hadn’t been at the loft when she got back, and he hadn’t been at his parents graves nor S.T.A.R Labs either. She had tried calling him all night, but he didn’t pick up at all. Joe said he didn’t turn up to work either, and if he said Barry was sick, he’d try confirming it with Barry so he told Singh the truth. He told him the entire story.

Of course, he had been concerned when David forgot that Patty had been kidnapped, but upon the reminder of the security footage, he remembered the events at the station the previous night. 

“Well, I am going to start this up again,” Wally shot back, anger in his eyes, “you’re meant to be his family. Iris, you’re the love of his life, his best friend! And you kept the fact that he had a kid with another woman a secret!” Iris looked down as Wally spoke. She was the only person who felt truly guilty, not even Joe looked guilty over his actions. 

“Barry and I never got to grow up with our fathers. How badly do you think he wanted to be a good one to his son?” Wally asked, leaving the room. He didn’t need this. 

Joe turned to Iris, who had tears in her eyes. She didn’t want to hurt Barry, but she had. She had kept something from him, and she knew why he had run out. Cisco and Caitlin looked down at their computers as they mulled over Wally’s words. Sure, it wasn’t their secret to tell, but it involved Barry, and they knew they should’ve told him but they remained silent about it. 

Joe didn’t know how he and either of his sons were going to bounce back from this.

* * *

**Lima [Ohio]**   
**11:22 am**

Barry first heard yelling when he woke up. He rolled onto his back, the memories from last night were gone as he forgot where he was. They came back to him though, when he heard Blaine’s voice. 

He had a son. He, Bartholomew Henry Sebastian Smythe-Allen, had a two-year-old son that his own foster father failed to tell him. Tears welled up in his eyes as he remembered the betrayal he felt as he heard that Iris, Cisco and Caitlin had failed to tell him as well. Barry reluctantly rolled out of bed as he heard the yelling getting louder. When he opened the bedroom door, he was shocked to see Kurt there, yelling at Blaine.

“Why are you here?” Kurt asked when he saw Barry open the door. He didn’t care how bad Barry looked, he just wanted an answer from the man who was in his husband’s bed with him.

“I just had to get away from Central for a while,” Barry replied, suddenly feeling really bad for most likely being the cause of the argument.

“So you decide to sleep with my husband?” Kurt questioned skeptically, raising his eyebrow at the younger man. Barry sighed as Blaine rolled his eyes. Blaine didn’t cheat on him with Barry, but that’s what Kurt was insinuating.

“I hope you know that, if Finn was alive, he’d be on his way to beat both of your asses right now” Kurt sneered, crossing his arms as he looked at both Barry and Blaine. Barry turned to Blaine, he could see he was getting upset from the accusation of cheating on Kurt, so Barry knew he had to do something to try and salvage the marriage.

“You wanna know why I’m here?” Barry asked, looking fed up. 

Kurt nodded expectantly whilst Blaine held a comfort in his expression.   
“The people who are meant to be my family lied to me. They kept a secret from me and I had just found out last night. It was a two year long secret,” Barry sighed as Kurt no longer looked interested, “so, I came here as the first place I could think of” 

Blaine held sympathy in his eyes as Barry explained the story. Kurt just looked like he didn’t care, which was true--he didn’t. 

“We never slept together,” Barry clarified, “Yes, I was in his bed but it wasn't sexual or anything. He didn’t want me to sleep on the couch” 

Blaine nodded in agreement as Kurt turned to his husband. Kurt sighed as he turned back to Barry, who held conviction in his eyes. 

“What was the two year long secret then, Meerkat?” Kurt asked, sitting down on the couch opposite the one Barry had sat on when he arrived at Blaine’s. 

“I have a son” Barry said softly, looking down at the ground so he didn’t have to see their reactions.

* * *

**Unknown location**   
**The same time**

The man sneered as he ripped the sack off of Patty’s head. She looked around the room in fear, now realising how bad the situation truly was.

“Why did you kidnap me?” She asked, looking at her captor with a sense of hope that maybe she wasn’t destined to die.

“We have a common enemy we do,” Her captor answered honestly, sitting down on a random stool in front of her. He kept his eyes locked onto her from behind the mask he had stolen from a random halloween shop on the way to his base of operations.

“And who’s that?” Patty asked, feeling the tension she had in her melt away. 

“Sebastian Smythe,” He replied, taking his mask off, “Or as he’s known to you as Barry Allen-- the Father of your son”

Patty felt her heart drop at the mention of her son. What did he do with him? And how did he know that Barry was his father? Not even Barry knew that. 

“Who-who are you?” Patty pressed, the tension returning 

“My name is Savitar,” He replied, standing up, “But you can call me Hunter. Hunter Clarington”

* * *

**Foundry [Star City]**   
**11:52 am**

Felicity looked concerned as Cisco explained to them the situation they were in. Central City needed The Flash but he was nowhere to be seen after last night’s explosive dinner. They all had tried to call him, even Thea attempted to try and contact him but it failed just like the other ones did. 

“You want me to track the location of his phone?” Felicity asked Cisco, the man sighing at the simple task.

“You’re like the best hacker there is, Felicity,” Cisco pointed out, “If i can’t find him. You will”

She sighed as she knew it was true, she was the best hacker there is. Cisco scoffed as he watched her retreat into her head, most likely to add it to the long list of compliments she had received over the years for being an amazing person/hacker.

“I’ll see what I can do” She replied, spinning around in her chair to face the computers. 

Oliver just sighed as Barry ignored another one of his calls. He was becoming increasingly worried about the younger man, he had never ghosted anyone, let alone Oliver Queen, before. Why was he ignoring Oliver through? He was the reason he knew he had a son in the first place.

“I don’t understand why he isn’t answering my calls,” Oliver grumbled out loud, “I told him in the first place that he had a kid”

Cisco stared at Oliver. He didn’t know who had told Barry that he had a son, but it all made sense as to why Oliver was the one to break the news to him. He could relate to the pain of having a son hidden from him for years.

They didn’t know why Barry was ghosting Oliver, but they all just prayed that Patty was alive. They all prayed that her son, Barry’s son, was fine.

* * *

**McKinley High [Ohio]**   
**12:32 pm**

Mr. Schuster was in the auditorium, struggling to come to grips with what had happened at the first break of the day. What did he want with Sebastian? And since when did he have a kid?

The sight in front of him made him freeze though. There was a woman, she was blonde and her eyes held a fear so strong it passed on to Will within seconds. 

“Are you William Schuster?” She asked, her voice trembling from fear.

Will nodded, frozen with shock as he stared at the gun she was pressing to her temple. 

“Well, my name is Patty Spivot,” She continued, “and I need for you to call Blaine Anderson and ask him to bring Barry Allen with him please”


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Trigger Warning: Suicide :(

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TRIGGER WANRING: SUICIDE :(

**Lima [Ohio]**   
**The same time**

The argument between Kurt and Blaine had ended a while ago, but Barry could still feel the tension between the couple. They were all sitting on the couch, watching a casual sitcom when Blaine’s phone disrupted the silence they were in. He stood up when he read the name on the Caller ID.

“Hey, Mr. Schue,” Blaine greeted a smile on his face.

That soon morphed into one of confusion, and that concerned the other men in the room.

Blaine brought the phone down from his ear, slowly turning around to face his husband and his friend.

“How fast can you get us to McKinley?” Blaine asked Barry, fear in his eyes.

* * *

**McKinley [Ohio]**   
**The same time**

Mr. Schuster froze as he heard some of his students enter the auditorium, completely unaware of what was about to happen. Hearing the gasps of his students made his heart clench even more. They were witnessing what he was looking at, he just hoped that she didn’t pull the trigger. 

A burst of lightning in the room added heat into the room, and he suddenly found himself outside of the complex completely, standing in the middle of the outside area with Blaine, Kurt, Kitty and Jane. 

It was a total of 5 minutes later that the sound of a gunshot rippled its way throughout the entire building. Blaine and Kurt turned to each other, sprinting off into the school within seconds, Mr. Schuster followed them seconds later.

* * *

**Auditorium [Ohio]**   
**Moments before**

Barry had tears in his eyes as he stared at the pistol against Patty’s temple. He did not want her to pull that trigger. Her sin needed his mother.

“P-Patty…” Barry began slowly inching closer towards the stage, where Patty was standing.

“Barry.. I have no other choice” She whimpered out, pressing the gun harder against her head. He could see the desire for someone to save her, for someone to make sure she never had to pull the trigger. She didn’t want to die. Someone was wanting her to.

“What are you talking about, Patty?” Barry asked her, his whole body shaking as she stepped away from him once he was on the stage. 

“He has him, Barry” She cried out, tears spilling down her face as Barry realised why she had to do it. If she didn’t do it, then it would be their son who would take the bullet instead. She was trying to save her son's life.

“Patty, please.. He-he needs a mom to grow up with” Barry whispered softly, edging closer to his ex-girlfriend. 

“He won’t be able to grow up unless I do this” Patty argued back, her finger pulling back the trigger ever so slowly.

“He has him, Barry!” Patty yelled out, her whole body paling.

“Who has him, Patty?” He asked delicately. He needed to know the person he’d have to kill in order to get justice for the mother of his kid’s death.

“Hunter..” She choked out, making Barry’s heart stop, “Hunter Cl-larington” 

Then she released her hold on the trigger.

* * *

**Dalton Academy [Ohio]**   
**Hours later**

McKinley had been evacuated once the cops had arrived, they were keeping the auditorium under wraps, they didn’t need to know that someone had died in their school grounds. 

New Directions had headed over to Dalton, wanting to talk with The Warblers and get their minds off of the whole situation with them Mr. Schuster was sitting in one of Dalton’s conference rooms with Barry, Kurt and Blaine. All three of them had just finished their statements for the cops.

“Sebastian?” Will asked Barry. He had been sitting in his chair stoically ever since the cops had left them alone. Barry didn’t respond though, he was staring at a non-existent point on the far side of the room. Blaine looked at his friend with concern, and so did Kurt, which surprised them. He had witnessed her do it though, and it was something dark to watch. 

“Bas?” Kurt asked softly, leaving Blaine’s embrace and crouching down in front of his frenemy. His concern overlapping his mutual hatred for the man. 

“I’m gonna kill him” He mumbled, his jaw clenching as he remembered the name Patty had spat out moments before she had taken her own life.

“Seb? Who are you going to kill?” Blaine asked, crouching down next to his husband whilst Will stayed in his seat, simply rolling his chair closer to the group.

“Hunter Clarington” He sneered, tears spilling out of his eyes from anger. 

* * *

**Unknown Location**   
**The same time**

“Did she do it?” A man asked Hunter, his face hidden under his blackened mask. 

Hunter nodded, slight remorse in his eyes. He hadn’t wanted for the detective to die, she wasn’t even supposed to be involved, but they wanted to hurt Barry. They had hurt him, they had gone after someone he had loved, and they knew he was going to hunt them down to their last breath. He was going to do whatever it takes to avenge her, and they both knew that.

“Look, she didn’t deserve to die” Hunter said, he couldn’t keep killing innocent people. It was tearing him apart the crushing weight of all the people he had to kill for this man. He just wanted to get back at Barry, he wanted to fulfill his father’s vendetta. Truth be told, he hadn’t actually wanted to hurt Barry, he had actually connected with the man during High School but after his father had told him his version of their rivalry, then he immediately wanted to take action.

“What did I tell you about contradicting me?” The man demanded, his voice full of authority and power as he stared at Hunter. 

“Don’t do it, whether it be mentally or verbally” Hunter said softly, looking down at the ground. 

The man nodded, smirking behind his mask. As long as he was in control, then everything would be okay. Everything was going to work out. He took his mask off and turned to Hunter waiting for him to leave.

“Is there anything else you want me to do, Jessie?” Hunter asked, looking up at his employer. Jessie shook his head, and smiled as Hunter left the office.

Sebastian Smythe had made him, Jessie St James, look like a freaking saint. He was going to make sure everyone knew not to mess with him, and the first rule of business was to eliminate the competition.


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I hope the last chapter didn't make you cry like it made me cry :(

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Also, because I am too lazy to fix it, when they're at S.T.A.R Labs and Joe is there, it's because it's his break at C.C.P.D and he wanted to know if anything new had popped up regarding Barry's location :)

**C.C.P.D [Central City]**   
**The next day**

David Singh held back his tears as he stared at his detectives, all their eyes glossy. They had heard the news as a collective. Patty Spivot had committed suicide, the reasoning behind it was unknown. 

Sighing, David stared at his squad, “I’m sure you’re all aware of the news we received moments ago”

Everyone nodded, including Joe who seemed to be frozen slightly. Singh sighed once more, he could not believe that she had done it. She was such a happy girl.

“Well… I will be checking in with all of you on a more regular basis,” He explained after a beat, “I want you all to be honest with me. I want to know how you’re feeling”

They all nodded, agreeing with their boss silently. They understood why he was like this, he couldn’t afford to lose another detective, whether she had been with them when it happened or not. Detective Patty Spivot was a lovely woman, who had grown on all of the officers in the precinct, including their own CSI Barry Allen. They were understanding that he was taking a few personal days, after all, they had seen how madly in love he and Patty were with each other. 

“You’re all dismissed,” Singh said softly, wiping his eyes and heading to his office. 

Joe sighed, he hadn’t received a call from Iris saying that S.T.A.R Labs knew where Barry was. This news was going to crush him. He just hoped Barry made an appearance soon, he just really wanted for his son to be okay.

* * *

**Dalton Academy [Ohio]**   
**9:21 am**

The Warblers and the New Directions were all talking in the auditorium as they waited patiently for Mr. Schuster and the Dean of Dalton to finish their meeting. They were about to find out if they were merging again or if they were just going to share the space they had with the other show choir.

Mr. Schuster walked in moments later, followed by Blaine, Kurt, Barry and the Dean. They all seemed pleased with the results of the meeting. 

Stacey stared at Barry, why didn’t she know he was in town? They were related to each other after all, she had every right to know when he was visiting them. It didn’t matter though, because she hopped up and ran to him, hugging him tightly. Barry had been through hell when she last saw him, she just hoped he was getting a break from the stress of his life back in Central City.

“I missed you” She mumbled into his ear, holding on tighter as he returned the embrace. She felt him bury his head against her shoulder, feeling his eyes wetness against her clothing. Was he crying? Why was he crying? 

When they pulled away from each other, Stacey saw how badly his eyes were glossy, and she felt tears spring into her eyes just seeing how much he was struggling. Why wasn’t he allowed a break?

Thad, Nick and Jeff shot up when Stacey finally let go of Barry. They had missed him a lot, even if they still kept in touch with each other a lot more frequently than before. It was still nice to him in person though.

“Sebastian!” They all yelled, running to embrace the former Captain. Barry rolled his eyes and tensed, preparing himself for the hug that would surely send him flying. 

“So, we will be merging as one… again” Mr. Schuster explained, and Barry caught a huge bruise on the side of his neck as Will sorted out his collar. It looked bad, and it looked like it was the shape of a hand. 

Everyone cheered. They loved working with each other.

Blaine ran over to the rogue piano in the room. He had an idea for a nice little song that would just help ease anxiety and plus, he really wanted to sing it in general.

**Blaine**   
_You think I'm pretty_   
_Without any make-up on_   
_You think I'm funny when I tell the_   
_Punch line wrong_   
_I know you get me_   
_So I'll let the walls come down, down_

Everyone smiled at the song choice: Katy Perry.. Barry rolled his eyes at Blaine as he looked them all in the eye as he sang. 

**Blaine**   
_Before you met me I was alright_   
_But things were kinda heavy_   
_You brought me to life_   
_Now every February_

Kurt stared at his husband with hearts in his eyes. Blaine was a fantastic singer, and that just made him love the other man even more.

**Blaine**   
_You'll be my valentine, valentine_

_Let's go all the way tonight_   
_No regrets, just love_   
_We can dance until we die_   
_You and I, we'll be young forever_   
_You make me_

_Feel like I'm living a_   
_Teenage Dream_

_The way you turn me on_

_I can't sleep_   
_Let's run away_   
_And don't ever look back_

_Don't ever look back_

_My heart stops_   
_When you look at me_   
_Just one touch_   
_Now baby I believe_

_This is real_   
_So take a chance_

_And don't ever look back_   
_Don't ever look back_   
_We drove to Cali and got drunk on the beach_   
_Got a motel and built a fort_   
_Out of sheets_

_I finally found you_   
_My missing puzzle piece_   
_I'm complete_   
_Let's go all the way tonight_   
_No regrets, just love_   
_We can dance until we die_

_You and I, we'll be young forever_   
_You make me_   
_Feel like I'm living a_   
_Teenage dream_   
_The way you turn me on_   
_I can't sleep_

_Let's run away_   
_And don't ever look back_   
_Don't ever look back_   
_My heart stops_   
_When you look at me_   
_Just one touch_   
_Now baby I believe_   
_This is real_   
_So take a chance_   
_And don't ever look back_   
_Don't ever look back_   
_I might get your heart racing_   
_In my skin-tight jeans_   
_Be your teenage dream tonight_   
_Let you put your hands on me_   
_In my skin-tight jeans_   
_Be your teenage dream tonight_   
_You make me_   
_Feel like I'm living a_   
_Teenage Dream_   
_The way you turn me on_   
_I can't sleep_   
_Let's run away_   
_And don't ever look back_   
_Don't ever look back_   
_My heart stops_   
_When you look at me_   
_Just one touch_   
_Now baby I believe_   
_This is real_   
_So take a chance_   
_And don't ever look back_   
_Don't ever look back_   
_I might get your heart racing_   
_In my skin-tight jeans_   
_Be your teenage dream tonight_   
_Let you put your hands on me_   
_In my skin-tight jeans_   
_Be your teenage dream_   
_Tonight, tonight, tonight_

They all cheered at the end of the song, praising Blaine for how amazing his voice was. 

Barry’s phone ringing brought everyone’s attention to him. He sighed as he read the Caller ID. Oliver Queen.

He knew he had to answer, otherwise Oliver would personally hunt him down, even if he didn’t know the precise location of the man.

“Hey, Ollie”

* * *

**S.T.A.R Labs**   
**The same time**

The smile on Oliver’s face was unnatural. They had only ever seen the vigilante smirk, they had never seen a full blown smile grace his face as he spoke to the younger man on the phone. Whether it was from the fact that Barry seemed okay or that Barry had finally answered him, they didn’t know. 

Felicity continued to try and trace the location of Barry’s phone whilst Oliver was busy talking to him. The archer didn’t exactly know that they were going to do that, in all honesty he just wanted to talk to the younger man. A beep made Joe’s eyes shoot open, they had a lock-on Barry’s location. 

Oliver walked out of the room, his phone still held up to his ear as he was most likely listening to the Scarlet Speedster ramble on about science or how he didn’t know when he was going back to his life in Central City.

“Joe, he’s all the way in Ohio” Caitlin said, shock taking over her body.

Joe froze. He hoped Barry wasn’t there regarding Patty. He hoped Barry wasn’t there because someone had called him and told him.


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hunter shows us he has a heart.

**Unknown Location**   
**1:32 am**

Hunter entered his bedroom, surprised to see Barry’s son lying on his bed. A warm smile graced his face. The two-year-old had grown on him alot since they had taken him from Patty’s home in Star City. He mirrored Barry’s optimism, his curious light brown eyes. The only thing that gave it away that he was Patty’s son, was the blonde hair sitting messily over his head. He laughed softly as the kid mumbled to himself, trying to stand up but failing when he saw Hunter enter the room. The whine that came out of his mouth broke Hunter’s heart, that kid really had grown on him. 

It’s really going to hurt him the night Jesse plans to kill him. 

Unless..

* * *

**Hummel-Anderson apartment [Ohio]**   
**10:54 pm**

Blaine, Kurt and Barry all entered the apartment slowly, too tired to take care of themselves. 

“Hey, Barry,” A man said. A very familiar man.

The trio all turned around, frozen still at the voice. Why would he show up there? Especially after what had happened the day before.

“I’ll give you 5 seconds to get the hell out of here,” Barry growled at Hunter, “but I hope you don’t”

Hunter chuckled, walking into the apartment and sitting down on the couch. He crossed his legs, giving off the most innocent look he could muster. Blaine and Kurt looked at each other whilst Barry eyed Hunter, shooting daggers at his former friend.

“C’mon now, Scarlet,” Hunter sneered, “I just came to see my dear old high school friends”

Only Snart was allowed to call him that. How dare he call him that.

“I actually came to give you something,” Hunter admitted rummaging through his pocket, “Well, I came to give you 2 things actually”

Barry stared at Hunter, watching as he pulled out a photo from his pocket. Hunter stared at it for a moment, then he handed it over to Barry. He kept that innocent smile on his face. 

“The enlightenment will come for you all, so I thought let you see a photo of the kid you’re never gonna remember you have” Hunter explained, smiling brightly as he looked at Blaine and Kurt.

Tears formed in Barry’s eyes as he looked at his son. He had Patty’s blonde hair and his light brown eyes. He looked like the perfect combination of both he and Patty. God, he just wanted to see his son, meet him even if it was for a minute. What did they want with him? Why did people want him to suffer?

“You’re cruel, Hunter,” Blaine spat out, walking to stand next to Barry, who was too focused on the photo. Kurt looked at Hunter with obvious disgust and hatred. 

“You’re the reason why Patty shot herself in the head” Barry whispered, looking through glossy eyes at Hunter.

“You’re the reason my son will never have his mother in his life,” Barry said weakly, the tears he had tried to hold back were sliding down his face.

As Hunter turned to walk out of the door, he turned back around when Barry cleared his throat.

“You really are your father’s son.. Hunter”

Hunter sped away before he let them see how much those words had affected him.

* * *

**Dalton Academy [Ohio]**   
**The next day**

Stacey, Thad, Nick and Jeff were all meeting in the Commons room once more. They were there to discuss Barry.

“He wasn’t okay, guys” Stacey sighed, she really wanted to know where he was staying and why he was even here but he had ignored all of her and her dad’s calls last night.

“Well, let’s do something to cheer him up then” Nick said, beaming as Jeff agreed. 

A knock on the door interrupted them. It was the Dean.

“We have some guests that would like to see you four” She said, opening the door wider and letting the others walk in.

“Hey, Stacey,” Iris said, a smile on her face.

“We wanna help you guys stop Hunter,” Caitlin explained, sitting down in a random chair. Cisco, Joe, Iris and Harry all did the same.

“How do you know about that?” Thad asked, facing Team Flash.

“This guy named Kurt called us. He told us everything” Joe sighed, he hated how much pain his son was going through down here. 

The quartet nodded at the news, glad that they had some more support in their fight against Hunter.

“Let’s get started then”


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I do not own the song

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The song is from 'The Script'. The song is called 'Superheroes'

**Unknown Location**   
**8:22 am**

Jessie kept his face blank as he walked through the headquarters of his hideout. Everyone was preparing for war. War on a certain Scarlet Speedster. They had been training for months now, ever since he and Hunter had run into each other in the middle of the woods. Hunter needed someone to turn to after his dad vanished, he needed another warrior, one who just so happened to have the same powers as Barry.

“Captain, we are loading up the weapons ahead of schedule,” A man said, running up to him, “Should we continue?”

Jessie nodded, letting his minion run off. After tomorrow night, Barry won’t know what hit him. This was a new age, and he was going to show them all that power over others will make things a lot better.

“Listen up,” Jessie bellowed throughout the main room. Everyone stopped what they were doing and gave him their attention, “After tomorrow night, the world will know that we will not be messed with!”

They all cheered in agreement and excitement. Tomorrow would mark a new day for the rebellion. 

With the random words of encouragement over, they all set back to work on what they were doing. 

“What are you going to do with Hunter, sir?” A man clad in all armour with multiple powerful guns strapped onto his back asked. 

“He shall burn in hell once we dispose of those who bring hope and joy into other people's lives” He said, walking off. The man saluted, walking off in the opposite direction.

Little did he know that a certain Speedster clad in an all black suit had heard it.

* * *

**Dalton Academy [Ohio]**   
**11:32 am**

Barry walked around Dalton, feeling the nostalgia hit him in many different waves. This school had been his home for so long, he truly missed it. 

This place taught him it was okay to be a douche but to also have fun. He learnt so many valuable lessons from this school, he would forever treasure his memories here.

He had actually arrived with Blaine and Kurt, but they had walked off somewhere, leaving for him to roam the vast halls the school had. 

“Barry?” A voice asked softly. He turned around, coming face-to-face with Iris. Tears were glistening in her eyes as she looked at her boyfriend, remorse evident in her face. He sighed, he knew he’d have to speak to them at some point. 

“Hey, Iris,” Barry said, not meeting her eyes. He kept his gaze on the floor, shifting uncomfortably on the heels of his feet.

She sighed and took tiny steps towards him, not wanting him to flinch away like he had the night he had found out the secret. She didn’t want to hurt him, but he wasn’t giving himself time to grieve his father properly. Sure, they had held a funeral but Barry had kept his emotions locked inside the whole time, and he had kept that mask up all the way until Joe finally forced Barry to explain everything to him. They didn’t think Barry could carry the weight of being a father when he had just lost his. 

“Barry, I’m so sorry for keeping your son away from you,” Iris began when she was standing right in front of him. She knew he may never forgive her, she just wanted him to hear her out. 

She stopped in her tracks though when Barry pulled a photo out of his jean pocket, tears shining in his eyes as he handed her the photo. Iris gasped as she saw who was in the photo. He looked exactly like the younger male version of Patty.

“That photo was given to me last night,” Barry began, his voice tight as he tried to prevent himself from breaking down completely. He shakes his head and takes the photo back from Iris when she offers it back.

“Is that him?” Iris asked, tears sparkling in her own eyes as she looked at Barry, guilt eating away at her. Had she really kept that adorable little boy away from his amazing father?

Barry nodded, biting his lip to refrain himself from sobbing out loud. He needed to keep himself composed, he never knew when Hunter would next appear.

The couple stared at each other, eyes glossing over as they remembered the pain they had put the other through. Even if Iris keeping a secret had caused him the most pain, he knew Iris was hurting about him being hurt. 

“We should probably go to the Auditorium,” Iris said, wiping her eyes and putting a smile on her face, moving her hand to rub at Barry’s arm, “Everyone is waiting for us there”

Barry nodded, using his free arm to wipe his tears away. He put a smile on his face too, one that would be his mask for the pain he was feeling. He laced his and Iris’s hands together and walked hand-in-hand with her to the Auditorium. They might have been at odds but the walk was nice for them both. 

* * *

**S.T.A.R Labs [Central City]**   
**The same time**

Oliver walked around the facility, grasping at how large it actually was. Whilst Team Flash all went to Ohio, he and Team Arrow, as much as he hated that being their name, had agreed to stay in Central City. His city had been entrusted into the hands of S.C.P.D, he wanted them to stop slacking and start becoming a stronger precinct. 

“Oliver, report to the Cortex please,” Felicity imitated Cisco’s voice through the intercom, she got the high pitched part right.

He sighed and turned back into the direction of the Cortex, he was going to take a slow walk there, if it was anything dangerous then alarms would be blaring throughout the building.

When he stumbled into the Cortex, he was surprised to see a Breach in the center of the room, but it didn’t look like any of the ones Cisco could create. 

“Who are you?” Oliver bellowed at the Breach, shocked that when it closed, no-one had stepped through.

He and Felicity looked at each other for a brief second, their heads darting back to the center of the room as the Breach reopened, this time someone stepped through though.

“I won’t ask you again,” Oliver sneered, “Who are you?”

The man simply smirked, standing calmly next to the closing breach.

“I’m Lex Luthor”

* * *

**Dalton Academy [Ohio]**   
**11:37 am**

Iris and Barry arrived at the auditorium, their hands still laced together as they looked at everyone. The entirety of Team Flash was there, well minus Wally, but they were all still there. Barry felt tears build up in his eyes as he remembered how his best friends and his own Foster Father had hidden a child from him. He was nowhere near ready to forgive them, not yet. At least Iris had the right mind to show both guilt and remorse; Joe, Caitlin and Cisco weren’t showing any emotions.

“Bear--” Joe began, getting cut off by Barry.

“Don’t..” He croaked out softly, wiping away the tears in his eyes as Stacey, Thad and Niff walked onto the stage. They all had massive smiles on their faces. Ones that they all tried to mirror.

“Well, we all came together and wanted to see a smile on your face, Bas” Stacey explained, moving back into her place next to Thad and Jeff.

**Nick**   
_All the life she has seen_   
_All the meaner side of me_   
_They took away the prophet's dream_   
_For a profit on the street_

Barry smiled as Nick sang, he always knew he had potential, but he just never bothered to push himself in practise during their high school days.

**Thad**   
_Now she's stronger than you know_   
_A heart of steel starts to grow_

Thad was smiling as he sang, showing off the confidence he never expressed back during auditions for solos. It was a good look on him, Barry thought as he admired his friends singing for him up there.

**Jeff**   
_All his life he's been told_   
_He'll be nothing when he's old_   
_All the kicks and all the blows_   
_He won't ever let it show_

Caitlin stared at Jeff for a little too long. She knew he was gay but he was still a very good-looking man, and she really wished he wasn’t gay. 

**Stacey**   
_'Cause he's stronger than you know_   
_A heart of steel starts to grow_

Stacey was a phenomenal singer, she always had been. Barry always loved having her sing for him on the days he was upset and when she was 8, the same year Barry had finished high school, she had already won about 5 different singing competitions. Even from a young age she had an amazing voice.

**Stacey, Jeff, Thad and Nick**   
_When you've been fighting for it all your life_   
_You've been struggling to make things right_   
_That's how a superhero learns to fly_   
_Every day, every hour, turn the pain into power_

_When you've fighting for it all your life_   
_You've been working every day and night_   
_That's how a superhero learns to fly_   
_Every day, every hour, turn the pain into power_

This song was amazing, and all of their voices suited it perfectly. They really were amazing singers.

**The Warblers & New Directions**   
_Oh-oh, oh, oh_   
_Oh-oh, oh, oh_

When the two show choirs walked out, Barry was really impressed with how fast they had put this whole thing together. They had managed to rehearse an entire song, call two Alumni up to help with it all in what like 5 hours? They really were a remarkable group.

**Blaine**   
_All the hurt, all the lies_   
_All the tears that they cry_   
_When the moment is just right_   
_You see fire in their eyes_

Blaine and Kurt walked onto the stage, Mr. Schuster joined them seconds later. Smiles were on all of their faces as they danced and sang. They all really loved performing. 

**Mr. Schuster**   
_'Cause he's stronger than you know_   
_A heart of steel starts to grow_

Barru smiled at Mr. Schuster. The two had gotten quite close after he and Santana began dating and it was clear that he loved his students. He was a good teacher and a mentor.

**Kurt, Mr. Schuster & Blaine**   
_When you've been fighting for it all your life_   
_You've been struggling to make things right_   
_That's how a superhero learns to fly_   
_Every day, every hour, turn the pain into power_

**Everyone**   
_When you've fighting for it all your life_   
_You've been working every day and night_   
_That's how a superhero learns to fly_   
_Every day, every hour, turn the pain into power_   
_power, power, power, power, power_

_Every day, every hour turn the pain into power_   
_Power, power, power, power_

_Every day, every hour turn the pain into power_

**Blaine, Nick, Jeff & Mr. Schuster & The Warblers**   
_She's got lions in her heart_   
_A fire in her soul he's a got a beast_   
_In his belly that's so hard to control_   
_'Cause they've taken too much hits, taking blow by blow_   
_Now light a match, stand back, watch them explode_

**Jane, Kitty, Stacey & the New Directions**   
_She's got lions in her heart_   
_A fire in her soul he's a got a beast_   
_In his belly that's so hard to control_   
_'Cause they've taken too much hits, taking blow by blow_   
_Now light a match, stand back, watch them explode_

**Everyone**   
_When you've been fighting for it all your life_   
_You've been struggling to make things right_   
_That's a how a superhero learns to fly_   
_Every day, every hour, turn the pain into power_

_When you've fighting for it all your life_   
_You've been working every day and night_   
_That's a how a superhero learns to fly_   
_Every day, every hour, turn the pain into power_   
_power, power, power, power, power_

_Oh, yes_   
_power, power, power, power_   
_Every day, every hour, turn the pain into power_   
_Power, power, power, power_   
_Ooh, yeah_   
_Whoa_   
_power, power, power, power_   
_Every day, every hour, turn the pain into power_

**Stacey, Jeff, Thad & Nick**   
_When you've been fighting for it all your life_   
_You've been struggling to make things right_   
_That's how a superhero learns to fly_

Barry was speechless. They did all of that for him? He clapped, a shocked, but very grateful, look on his face as he did so. Iris stood next to her dad, clapping along as well. Cisco and Caitlin cheered and well, Harry simply smirked and walked out of the room. 

“That was amazing,” Barry exclaimed, climbing onto the stage and hugging his friends. 

Suddenly, the Dean spoke on the intercom, “We are going into lockdown.. I repeat, we are going into lockdown”


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Well, here's the next chapter :)

**Unknown Location**   
**3:32 pm**

Barry tried fighting his restraints one more time. He had been locked in a room where the temperature had been turned up the whole way, his eyes were struggling to focus as everything seemed like it was hazy. He hated meta-cuffs with a burning passion.

His head lolled back against the wall, all the strength he used to have was long gone by now. He was sweating profusely as he tried once more to break out of the cuffs but it didn’t happen. Instead, it made him very tired. He sat there in a daze as he felt his body begin to shut down, the energy he once had had disappeared once it hit 100 degrees. 

The last thing Barry remembered was hearing the door to the room open before everything melted away.

* * *

**Dalton Academy**   
**4 hours earlier**

Barry turned to Joe after hearing the announcement, a silent agreement that he would keep them all safe whilst Barry went out to investigate. Thank god he had gotten in touch with Ray Palmer recently, especially since he made Barry a new nanotech suit. 

Whilst Joe made sure everyone was sitting on the floor, hiding behind the many rows of chairs, Barry made a break for the door, opening it slightly and sticking his head out into the hall. No-one was near them. 

He slipped through the door without anyone, except Caitlin and Cisco, noticing him. They went after him. 

Joe found a spot next to Mr. Schuster, pulling his gun out of his waist holster. Mr. Schuster eyed the gun in the Detective’s hand, he did not know why he had pulled that out.

“You never know who might walk through those doors,” Joe answered Will’s unvoiced question. Will simply nodded in response and turned his gaze towards the stage, his breath catching his throat.

“Um.. Detective?” Will whispered, making Joe turn around.

“Hello everyone.. Long time no see”

“Jessie St James?” Will asked incredulously. There was no way this was the same ex-captain for Vocal Adrenaline. 

* * *

**Outside Dalton Academy [Ohio]**   
**The same time**

The school ground had been overrun by armed men, masks covering their faces as they walked around the complex. 

Many students who were outside ran towards any doors that were unlocked, not wanting to be caught by the bullets that were being fired by some of the guns. 

57 Students had been shot and killed by those armed men. 

Barry sped out to the courtyard, his suit fully formed to cover his face from the security cameras.He stood in front of the armed men, there were at least 30 of them. He may be fast, but he couldn’t fight them all.

“Need some help, Flash?” An icy smooth voice asked. Barry smirked, turning around and coming face-to-face with Killer Frost and Vibe. They all nodded at each other, prepared to take them on. 

Killer Frost and Vibe walked and stood next to Flash, their attention fully on the armed men. No-one else was going to die. They were going to make sure of it.

The soldiers cocked their guns and aimed at the trio, getting ready to fight the three metas.

This was going to be an interesting fight.

The moment the soldiers let go of the triggers on their guns, the world slowed down for Flash. He ran around, collecting all the bullets before they hit Vibe and Killer Frost. Frost shot ice blasts at the closer targets whilst Vibe used his Vibe blasts against the other close up targets. Flash stopped running once all of them had run out of bullets, smirking as they all looked at the metas scared. 

“Have you guys not heard of me or something?” Flash asked cockily, laughing in surprise as they all nodded their heads rapidly. They were generally terrified of them. Huh.

“Our leader speaks very poorly of you” One of the men sneered, making Team Flash turn around. The man had his gun loaded and locked onto Flash, the tracker pointing to his head.

Frost and Vibe stared at Flash, concern shining in their eyes as they saw Flash’s eyes darken a huge amount. Whoever that was, really annoyed Flash.

He hadn’t been fast enough to react though, as the once scared soldiers grabbed both Frost and Vibe, placing meta-cuffs on them both. Flash eyed the armed man, his whole body tense as he recognised the voice. He’d recognise that man anywhere.

“How’s it going, Barry?” Hunter Zoloman asked, his mask falling to the floor as he stared at his former teammates. How was he alive? He had been killed by the Time Wraiths that had followed him to the present after he ran back inside and made a time remnant to help defeat him. 

“How are you even alive?” Flash asked, not bothering to show his face. Whilst Zoom may have revealed his face, he wasn’t quite ready to be known like that just yet.

“Your little speedster friend, Hunter Clarington, ran back in time and explained my fate,” Hunter began, lowering his gun and letting it drop to the floor, “He and that friend of his, Jessie St James or whatever his name is caught me all up to speed on their mission. I’m all for it”

Flash turned to his two trapped teammates, none of them could believe what they were hearing. This couldn’t be right. There was no way he was there in front of them.

What he didn’t realise was that Zoom had picked his gun and his mask up. The gun aimed at his neck, all he hears is the bang the gun makes when the bullet is released. He feels a prick in his neck, then something enters his bloodstream. Flash’s legs felt unstable to him, and then he was down on the ground, his world darkening as Hunter stands over him, saying words he can’t fully process before he’s gone.

Both Frost and Vibe screamed once more before the armed soldiers pistol whipped them both. Both metas fell to the floor, unconscious.

Hunter stared at the men, nodding at them. They picked up Frost and Vibe, leaving Flash alone on the floor.

* * *

**Inside Dalton Academy**   
**The same time**

Will, Kurt and Jane stared at Jessie. He had the most innocent look on his face that even Will wanted to smack off of him. 

“What do you want, Jessie?” Will asked, moving from crouching down to standing up. Joe tensed beside him, not wanting for the teacher to be killed.

“I want Sebastian Smythe to suffer,” He began, sitting down on a rogue stall on the stage, “He made me look like a freaking saint--ignore the irony for my name.”

“What did Sebastian ever do to you?” Joe asked, putting his gun down to show he didn’t want to be a threat.

“He was privileged, spoiled, everything I was before I left Vocal Adrenaline, before I broke Rachel Berry’s heart,” He spoke again, anger laced in his voice, “Sebastian made all of your lives a living hell, why haven’t you taken revenge on that just yet?”

Blaine sighed and stood up also, Kurt doing the same. They had been hurt by Sebastian the worst but they had all become civilised after he and Santana started dating all those years ago.

“As much as I wanted to,” Kurt began, “He made up for it. He showed us that he did indeed have a heart.. Even if it took Thad tying him down to a chair using chicken wire for us to realise that”

Blaine chuckled at the memory, he remembered that day.

“We sorted everything out with him, he’s like a brother to me” Blaine added, seeing the look on Joe’s face. 

“Well, I want him to suffer for everything he’s put the people he cares about through,” Jessie exclaimed, standing up and kicking the stool over. He tapped something in his ear, leaving the room but about 20 more armed men entered, standing at all the exit points. They were trapped.

* * *

**Unknown Location**   
**12:54 pm**

Barry groaned as he came to, his head throbbing from when he collided with the concrete back at Dalton. Wait.. he wasn’t at Dalton. He tried moving around, surprised to find himself tied to a pole. Chains were wrapped around his torso whilst his feet and his hands were clamped together with two pairs of hand-cuffs. One of the pairs on his hands and the others one his feet were all meta dampening cuffs. 

“Hellooo?” Barry yelled out after he spotted a security camera in the corner of the room he was locked in.

After yelling once more, Barry sighed and decided to admire the room they had put him in.

The walls were boring, no colours or paintings or anything nice on them at all. They were simply plain. The room in its entirety was bland. There was one pole in the room and that was the very one he had been tied against. The only thing to look at was the security camera he had already yelled at.

“Hello, Mr. Sebastian Smythe” A voice cooed into the intercom. Barry tensed. 

“Enjoying the room we’ve got for you?” He asked again, looking at the camera feed for if Barry gave a non-verbal response. He did not respond at all.

The man scoffed and rolled his eyes, surprised at how quiet Sebastian was all of a sudden being.

“C’mon now, Barry Allen, give me something to work with here” The man asked once more, making Barry sigh and slump against the pole once more. This was not how he wanted his day to go.


	14. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it took a little longer to update. My birthday was Sunday and I was really busy with family (social distancing with people outside of my household) and yeah. Hope you're all well and happy :)

_**Previously, on ‘Keep Holding On’: Barry’s been kidnapped. Dalton Academy has been overrun by Jessie St James and his army. Lex Luthor arrived at S.T.A.R. Labs** _

**Unknown Location**   
**The same time**

“C’mon now, Barry Allen, give me something to work with here” The man asked once more, making Barry sigh and slump against the pole once more. This was not how he wanted his day to go. 

“What do you want with me?” He asked eventually, turning his attention at the camera. 

The man sighed but he didn’t say anything, making Barry groan. Why were they avoiding his questions?

Just before he could ask the man something else, the door opened, gaining the entirety of Barry’s attention. The man smirked at him from underneath his mask, walking towards Barry. He crouched down right next to him, grabbing Barry’s throat with such a force he choked. Barry held fear in his eyes as he stared at most likely his captor.

“Who… are… you?” Barry gasped out. His face going red from the lack of oxygen. The man just chuckled and released his hold on Barry’s neck, laughing from how he struggled to bring oxygen into his body. 

“You should know who I am, Smythe” The man sneered, ripping his mask off. Barry starred in shock at who it was.

“Jessie?” Barry choked out, trying to get a good look at him. His vision had blurred slightly when Jessie had cut off his airways for a brief moment.

“That’s right, Barry” He replied, chucking his mask at Barry. He smiled as he admired Barry’s situation. He had the almighty Sebastian Smythe right where he wanted him, under his mercy. Soon, the rest of the world would fall under his command.

“I’ve got to step out for awhile, make sure everything runs smoothly,” He began, pulling something out of his pocket, “You enjoy your time here, and, try not to enjoy the heat too much”

Jessie used the black tape he had pulled out of his pocket and cut a piece off and placed it over Barry’s mouth, double checking the cuffs whilst he was there. He turned his head around and nodded at the camera, walking towards the door. Jessie heard Barry’s muffled screams behind him before he shut the door. 

He smiled and walked towards the guard monitoring the temperature gauge. The guard nodded and stepped aside, letting Jessie do whatever he needed to do. He watched with slight interest as Jessie turned it up to 264 degrees, he didn’t dare try to make a comment on it though. 

When Jessie walked away, the guard turned it down by 10 degrees, he may not particularly like Barry but he did have a heart somewhere.

* * *

**S.T.A.R. Labs [Central City]**   
**The same time**

“”I’m Lex Luthor,” The bald man greeted, outstretching his arm so Oliver could shake it. Although hesitant, Oliver reluctantly shook it, still on guard in who and why he was there.

“You have one of our Earth-38 aliens here so the D.E.O sent me here,” He explained, moving to sit in Cisco’s chair. Felicity remained quiet as Oliver stared at the man in shock. Why did it always have to involve aliens?

  
John walked in seconds later, dropping his cheeseburger on the floor as he stared at the intruder, grabbing his pistol and preparing to shoot at the man. Felicity squealed, backing away from the situation entirely. She was not about to get caught in this crossfire.

“Dig, lower your weapon,” Oliver commanded, turning his attention to his best friend. 

John obliged, very slowly putting his gun back into its holster. Oliver sighed in relief and turned his attention back onto Lex, who was busy messing around on Cisco’s computer. Oliver groaned and strode towards the man, turning the computer off. Lex stared at him with hurt as he turned the computer back on, continuing with whatever he was doing.

“What are you doing?” Felicity asked and Oliver backed away. He was not going to get on Felicity’s bad side.

“I’m rerouting your satellite for my own personal use,” He said, typing in these random codes. Felicity glared at him in disgust and speed-walked towards him, taking a deep breath to try and control her anger. He was not going to mess up the firewalls she had installed that had taken hours.

“Excuse me, Lex,” His name was said in utter disgust, “But this is our Earth. Now scooch out of my friends chair and go hunt your alien another freaking way”

Lex glared at her but slid out of the seat, staring at them all. They needed him, and he wasn’t about to go without a fight.

“Well, I hope you know that a certain ‘fastest man alive’ is in danger,” Lex commented, crossing his arms behind his back, moving to the door of the Cortex. Oliver looked at him in interest, what did he mean Barry was in trouble?

“Wait.. what do you mean, ‘the fastest man alive is in danger’?” Oliver asked, glad that Lex paused mid-stride and turned around to face the trio. A grim smile graced his face as he looked at all of them individually.

“The alien I’m after wants him dead”

* * *

**Unknown Location**   
**1:12 pm**

Barry weakly groaned as he struggled to break himself free from the pole he was attached to. He had started to really feel the heat 5 minutes after Jessie had left, and he hated how limited his oxygen became as well. As the sweat dripped down his face, he struggled to focus his bleary eyes on the camera, the whole room spinning in different directions making him nauseous. 

He tried yelling out once more, muffled groans coming out instead. He had no idea why Jessie wanted him dead, but he was going to find out the true reasoning once he was freed from his captivity. Barry’s head flopped to his chest, his vision running black for a moment. When reality finally came back to him, it was the first time he noticed he was in his suit, the emblem removed. He threw his head back against the wall, glad to feel pain. He wanted something to take his mind away from the heat.

He hoped someone would find him, and fast. He didn’t know how much longer he could survive.

* * *

**Dalton Academy [Ohio]**   
**The same time**

Mr. Schuster and Joe had moved next to Kurt and Blaine, wanting to fill them in on the current predicament. Joe knew Jessie had kidnapped Barry, the man had all but admitted it to him just before he left. Caitlin and Cisco had been taken as well, but they weren’t being held captive in the same area as Barry, so that was going to be difficult to get them. 

Moments later, a guard opened the door, smiling as a group of people were brought in with them. Joe only recognised two of them though; Santana and Brittany. They also recognised Joe and approached him once the guard had closed the door.

“Where’s Barry?” Santana asked, her eyes scanning the room for their friend, “Why hasn’t he sorted any of this yet?”

“Jessie St James has him, Caitlin and Cisco under lock and key somewhere,” Joe explained, “Jessie wants Barry, well ‘Sebastian Smythe’, to suffer”

Santana stared at Joe in shock whilst Brittany remained clueless of the situation entirely. Why the hell was Jessie back? And why did he want Sebastian to suffer? They didn’t even know each other.

“I don’t know why Jessie wants him to suffer either but we better hope that he doesn’t hurt my kid,” Joe answered Santana’s unvoiced question whilst Brittany had walked off and began talking to Mr. Schuster in a separate conversation.


	15. Chapter 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Previously, on ‘Keep Holding On’: Barry’s been kidnapped. Dalton Academy has been overrun by Jessie St James and his army. Lex Luthor arrived at S.T.A.R. Labs

_Previously, on ‘Keep Holding On’: Barry’s been kidnapped. Dalton Academy has been overrun by Jessie St James and his army. Lex Luthor arrived at S.T.A.R. Labs_

**Unknown Location**   
**5:54 pm**

Barry huffed softly as his mind finally unfogged. He had been trying for hours to try and get a single thought to make sense to him but he always forgot what the actual thought was before he had the chance to analyse his situation. He didn’t remember a lot of what had happened hours before. He knew he had been kidnapped by Jessie, that’s about it. 

“--rry?” A voice asked, breaking through the remaining cloud hovering above his hearing. The voice sounded far away, like they were speaking through a microphone in the middle of a cave.

“Barry?” The same voice asked. At least he knew the voice belonged to a man now. 

It took all of Barry’s strength to open his eyes but he did it, being welcomed to the world in a blurry daze. Barry opened his eyes once more, letting his head loll to the side on the pillow, that he guessed was under his head, so he could see who was the person there waiting with him. 

“Barry? Are you with us?” Questioned a very familiar man at his bedside. Barry blinked his eyes rapidly to remove the blurriness from his eyes, surprised at how it worked almost instantly. There was Oliver Queen, trying very hard to hide the concern he was feeling for the younger man.

“Ollie?” Barry croaked, wincing from how painful it was to speak. How did he go from being captured by Jessie, the man who no doubt wanted him dead now, to then waking up in a hospital bed with Oliver Queen at his bedside. 

“Wat’r..” Barry whispered, leaning more against the pillow as his head began to throb. Oliver seemed to understand what he meant though, and within seconds someone, a very familiar person, entered the room, a bottle of water in her hand.

“Kara?” Barry croaked out, his hand reaching out for the bottle of water she passed to him. He took a sip, sighing relief from how the water seemed to soothe his throat from the fire burning inside it. 

Kara smiled at him, relieved that he was okay. As much as she despised Lex Luthor with a passion, he did indirectly save Barry’s life, so she couldn’t find it in herself to go and yell at him. Besides, Alex was going to do that regardless of the outcome. 

“I’m glad to see that you’re awake, Barry,” Kara replied, taking a seat next to Oliver. They both looked at each other, relaxing into the seats as Barry stared at them with curious eyes. 

If they were with Kara, then they were on Earth-38. Why were they there rather than his earth? Or better yet, why weren’t they at S.T.A.R Labs?

“Why are we h’re instead of S.T.A.R?” Barry asked, not bothering to hide the wince from his incredibly raw throat. 

Kara and Oliver looked at each other. They wanted to tell him the truth, they really did, but he seemed exhausted, and he still needed to recover before he was flooded with questions by J’onn and Winn and the others. Oliver sighed and brought his gaze back onto his friend, a worn out smile on his face. He never wanted for Barry to see the dark side of choosing this life, but he had been thrown into it, at the hands of a man who wanted the world to watch Barry crumble until he was no more but a pile of rubble of his former self.

Just before Kara got to reply. Alex walked in, a smile on her face as she noticed that Barry had woken up. He still seemed really out of it though, she noted.

“Alex? What’s up?” Kara asked, her perkiness returning as she spoke to her sister. Alex rolled her eyes as she felt the tension in the room but went along with whatever reason Kara was suddenly acting like this.

“We’re going to interrogate the soldier who was left at the warehouse where they were keeping Barry. You want in on it?” She asked, keeping a straight face even when she saw Barry visibly flinch. Kara nodded rapidly, running out of the room so she didn’t have to face Barry.

“Get some rest, Barry,” Alex ordered softly, nodding to the man on the bed as she saw his eyelids droop, “You need it”

Oliver stood up and patted Barry’s leg, not officially leaving the room until Barry had dozed off. 

* * *

**Interrogation room [National City]**   
**6:22 pm**

Kara and Oliver stood on the opposite side of the glass, both dressed in their costumes as they listened to Alex question the man about Jessie’s plan and the team he had put together. They had managed to find out where Cisco and Caitlin were being held hours before they managed to get a location on Barry’s whereabouts. 

“You think we’ll actually get any information out of this man?” Oliver asked Kara, his hood up to hide the darkness clouding his vision as all he felt was rage about the man before them. He had been a part of the operation that almost took his best friend away from him. He had every right to be annoyed with him. Kara sensed this, and stepped closer to Oliver, trying to be within arm reach incase he decided to go torture the information out of the guy.

“He willingly led us straight to where Barry was being held,” Kara reasoned, “I think he will give us the information we want”

Alex sighed and left the room, walking behind the glass to where Oliver and Kara were. She knew that Kara had heard the whole thing whist Oliver just stood there, probably grouchy as he enjoyed the silence in the room. 

“He said nothing,” She explained, sitting down in a chair. She leaned back, letting her rest her head on the table behind her. 

“I’m going to talk to him,” Kara announced, leaving the room. Oliver just growled in response, staring invisible daggers into the man’s head.

“If glares could kill, he would’ve died a long time ago from the natural look on your face,” Alex sneered, snickering when Oliver growled once more, tensing in anger.

“I mean you’re constantly grumpy and you always glare at people, whether they compliment you or not,” Alex reasoned, “you would’ve definitely killed the guy a long time ago if your glare could end a life”

Oliver just turned around, lifting his hood as he made eye contact with Alex. His eyes held the same darkness they possessed the same time he was first introduced into Barry, a darkness he didn’t want anyone to be friendly or make jokes with kind of darkness.

“I’m just trying to put a smile on that angry face of yours,” Alex explained, standing up, placing a hand onto Oliver’s shoulder, “You’ve got, what us girls call, a resting bitch face. Well a resting broody face but it’s the same thing”

Oliver just shook his head and turned his attention onto the door, where Kara was standing, a huge smile on her face as she saw how close her sister and her friend were. She squealed and pulled them both in for a hug, confusing Oliver because only one minute ago she was interrogating their prisoner, and now she was pulling her friends in for a hug. If only Diggle could be here to realise how confusing Kara and her life was. 

* * *

“The guy said that the reason he showed us where Barry was was because he had a heart and didn’t want a death on his hands,” Kara explained in the D.E.O’s version of the S.T.A.R Labs cortex. 

Oliver was standing next to Alex, who insisted that she showed him around the building after the interrogation. Whilst Kara believed that they were bonding, Alex really just wanted Oliver to remove his ‘resting bitch face’. 

“So, if he didn’t want to carry the burden of a death then why isn’t he telling us what we need?” Alex asked, “He already saved one life, imagine how many more lives he could save with that information? 57 deaths were counted where the soldiers attacked. Why would he want to live with more?”

Kara shrugged whilst Oliver stared at the floor. When he was first brought into the D.E.O, Kara had made sure he didn’t beat anyone up who claimed he looked like the darker version of Robin Hood. Oh, how he wanted to go beat the guy up until he talked. He wanted to know everything about why that guy wanted Barry dead.

“All I know is that this ‘Jessie St James’ wants Barry dead because of an old high school grudge,” Oliver explained, remembering the phone call he had with Felicity, who had done some digging into the start of the whole thing. She was surprised at how he and Barry had never formally met each other, the only time they had seen each other was from the sidelines at some competitions back in Barry’s show choir days. 

“Felicity found out that Jessie had been angry with Barry ever since high school,” Oliver added, seeing the confused looks on their faces. 

“I tried finding Barry’s high school records myself, his junior and senior year aren’t there,” Winn questioned in shock. Moments before they had left S.T.A.R Labs and decided to come to Earth-38, they had tried pulling up information about Jessie St James, seeing if he and Barry had a past grudge with each other back in their teenage years.

“That’s because in Barry’s junior and senior year, he had transferred schools,” Oliver commented, “He went to a private school because bullying got really bad” 

Alex, J’onn and Winn turned their heads to the door that would grant them access to their resting friend. They knew that he had lost both of his parents, his mother dying when he was 11 whilst his father had died when he was 26, about to be 27, and they knew he had been through a lot already. Why did he have to be bullied as well?

“But why did he have no records of his grades throughout his other school?” J’onn asked, staring at the archer. Oliver sighed and shrugged his shoulders. That wasn’t really his story to tell.

“That’s a story I’m not entitled to tell you about,” Oliver replied, walking away from the quartet and into the room Barry was. He was glad to see the man still sleeping and that the room had been made darker for him. He smiled at Barry, he’d get his kid back, he’d make sure Barry got to meet his son.

* * *

**D.E.O [National City]**   
**The Next Day**

Barry sighed as he opened his eyes, surprised to find that the aches he used to have in his body were long gone. He turned his head to the I.V pole, his eyes widening when--not only did he notice that a certain emerald archer seemed to have stayed the night with him-- he had only been on one I.V bag the entire time. Either his glucose levels weren’t as bad as he thought, or their alien cures were helping him.

“Ollie?” Barry asked, sitting up in the bed without help. He was surprised at how deep asleep his mentor seemed to be. Oliver was so used to sleeping lightly, it was a surprise that he let himself fall asleep, properly. Barry rolled his eyes as he considered leaving Oliver a note so he wouldn’t freak out but he didn’t bother. Instead, he swung his legs over the side of the bed and pulled the I.V out, standing up and collecting his phone from the bedside next to him. At least Jessie was nice enough to leave his phone with him.

He left the room, surprised to see how busy the D.E.O was. It was a lot busier than last time. J’onn noticed him first, a warm smile on his face as he embraced the Scarlet Speedster, doing a once over to check if there were any lingering injuries. When they pulled away, that’s when Barry noticed Alex, Winn and two other people. The two strangers seemed highly close together and Barry suspected that they were dating. 

“Glad to have you back on your feet, Barry!” Winn cheered, tackling Barry into a hug. He chuckled and hugged Winn back just as tight, missing the man as well. The strangers stood awkwardly as they watched Winn and Barry embrace each other.

“Barry, I would like you to meet Brainy,” J’onn pointed to the man first, and then the female, “And she’s Nia”

Barry nodded, sliding out of Winn’s embrace to shake his new friends hands. They seemed uptight when Barry outstretched his hand though, so he put his arm back to his side, slipping his hands into his pockets as Alex moved to give Barry a hug. Barry hugged her back, squeezing softly as she rested her head against his shoulder.

“So, how did I even get here?,” Barry asked, “Oliver and Kara haven’t told me anything about what had happened”

J’onn sighed and turned to Brainy and Nia, ushering them off with his abilities. He turned back to Barry and grabbed a hold of him by the shoulders, guiding him down to a chair that Winn had placed behind him. Alex stood to his left and smiled innocently, trying to hide the taser and the gun on her holster. That would freak him out.

“Well, it all started when--”

* * *

**S.T.A.R Labs [Central City]**   
**Yesterday**

Oliver stood in the cortex at S.T.A.R Labs in his outfit, his hood up as he stared at the security cameras surrounding Queen Consolidated. Felicity had made sure that she had put them into their current setup just so he could travel back to his city if needed. He also made sure Quentin knew to call him the moment something came up.

Diggle, Thea and Felicity were all at Big Belly Burger whilst Oliver was left to deal with Lex. He didn’t know why that man of all people had been sent to deal with an alien because he seemed completely useless but there was no point in trying to send him back. He wouldn’t know how to anyway.

An alarm brought him out of his thoughts. He was meant to start patrol about 5 minutes ago but he had been staring at the monitor, eyeing his building like a hawk. The alert seemed to be coming from the breach room, Oliver realised. He ran through the building, getting lost several times. 

When he arrived, he suspected someone else was standing there, not Supergirl, and he certainly didn’t expect her of all people to be angry. She seemed fuming, Oliver noted as she walked towards Oliver, trying to contain her anger as she addressed her friend.

“Kara,” Oliver nodded.

“Oliver,” She did the same. She really must be angry if she didn’t try to hug him and have him awkwardly reject it.

“Where’s Lex?” She asked impatiently, her eyes beginning to glow as she focused her attention onto the doorway, the one and only Lex Luthor was standing there. His face had completely dropped at the sight of Kara.

“Hey, Supergirl,” Lex squeaked out, slowly backing away from the door. Kara growled and ran to chase after him, leaving Oliver to stand there alone. This was one crazy day.

He ran out of the room after them, hearing yelling in the middle of the hallway, between the elevator and the hallway to the rest of the building. Lex was standing in front of the elevator as Kara was standing with her back to the Emerald Archer, her whole body shaking with anger. 

“YOU WILL RETURN TO NATIONAL CITY IMMEDIATELY!” She yelled at him, slowly inching closer to him. Lex stepped back, he did not want to pick a fight with Kara one bit.

“YOUR FRIEND WILL DIE, OLIVER IF YOU LET HER TAKE ME BACK YOU’LL NEVER SAVE YOUR FRIEND!” Lex yelled at Oliver, both men surprised when Kara turned to face Oliver, a confused look on her face. At least she wasn’t angry anymore.

* * *

D.E.O agents roamed the vast halls of S.T.A.R Labs whilst Oliver stood in the Cortex with Kara, Lex and the rest of Team Arrow. Everyone was glaring at Lex whilst the others tried to trace Barry’s location as the calls Oliver had given Barry’s cellphone hadn’t been answered. Barry always answered his phone. 

“What do you mean Barry’s in trouble?” Kara questioned Lex, her face portraying a variety of emotions as she stared at the villain. 

“Well, you remember Jessie, right?” He started, waving his hands around as he spoke, “Of course you remember Jessie, he was a lunatic”

“Takes one to know one,” Oliver muttered under his breath, getting snickers from Felicity as she overheard his comment. God she loved him. Kara smiled at Lex, she was trying not to laugh herself as Oliver’s comment. He was such a grown up kid at times.

“He vanished, remember?” Lex pointed out, pointing a finger at Kara who looked confused.

“Jessie didn’t vanish,” Kara argued, “He was killed in the transfer bus that crashed on its way to the D.E.O’s offshore prison,” 

“Or so you all thought,” Lex added, “He faked his death and disappeared into a breach, to then be traced here”

“What were you doing tracing him anyway? He could’ve started a new life here and turned over a new leaf,” Alex commented, raising an eyebrow suspiciously at Lex. Kara clenched her jaw as she stared at Lex. Alex made a valid point after all.

“Yeah, Lex,” Kara sneered at the man, “what were you doing tracking down Jessie?”

Lex sighed and placed himself in Cisco’s chair, much to the dismay of everyone else in the room. The man seriously did whatever he wanted. It was highly annoying.

“I wanted to find him and bring him in so you could stop treating me like a criminal,” Lex explained, looking down at his hands, which were sitting in his lap. Kara scoffed and rolled her eyes, there was no way Lex Luthor of all people was going to do that.

“You killed a lot of innocent people back on our Earth, Lex,” Kara argued, angrily looking at the man, “I think that makes you a criminal”

Alex nodded, glaring at Lex as well. Her glare might not have been as powerful as Kara’s, but it intimidated everyone--including Oliver.

“That doesn’t explain as to why Jessie is hunting down Barry,” Thea commented, turning to her older brother for an answer. Oliver sighed and faced Lex, grumbling to himself as he crouched down in front of him. Maybe if he played nice then he’d get the information he wanted.

“Lex, do you have any idea as to why he would be after Barry?” Oliver asked softly, smiling as Lex brought his gaze up to meet Oliver’s curious one. 

“The last time I spoke to him, he was grumbling about how he’d kill the fastest man alive because of a high school grudge,” Lex said aloud, standing up in defeat and walking over to Kara, who was waiting to take him back to National City. 

“Put Jessie’s face against facial recognition,” Oliver ordered Felicity, she nodded and did as she was told. Just before Kara left, she turned to Oliver and mouthed a single word, ‘Dalton’. Getting the hint, Oliver quickly changed what he asked for, asking if they could go through both Dalton and McKinley’s databases to see if they found a match. They did. He was a former McKinley student, his background mainly said he was from this group called ‘Vocal Adrenaline’, and he seemed to be the Captain of the group. 

“Looks like we got our guy,” Oliver commented, a slight smile appearing on his face as he faced Alex. Felicity watched in shock as Oliver slightly smiled. She knew it wasn’t because of Alex. It was because she seemed to be totally checking out Jessie from a school photo. He was a good looking man though, even Felicity could say that.

“Lets go catch our guy,” John commented, starting to move from his spot leaning against the wall next to the hallway. He had zoned out of the conversation a long time ago, he was only brought out of it by Thea rolling her eyes and patting his shoulder as she left the room.

A D.E.O agent ran in seconds later, demanding they turn the news on. So they did. They turned the news on and watched in shock as Dalton Academy got overrun by soldiers, Jessie St James clear as day in front of them. This was not going to end well. Oliver turned towards Kara, pure rage on his face as they played the security footage that showed Hunter Zoloman coming face-to-face with Barry, Caitlin and Cisco. They watched as Barry got knocked out by Hunter and how the soldiers knocked both Caitlin and Cisco out and took them with them.

They were going to find them. They were going to end this once and for all.


	16. Chapter 16

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Previously on ‘Keep Holding On’: Barry had been rescued from where he was. Team Supergirl is helping them now. Oliver apparently has a ‘resting bitch face’. Dalton is still under Jessie’s control. Also, J’onn is explaining to Barry what happened to him and how they found him.

_Previously on ‘Keep Holding On’: Barry had been rescued from where he was. Team Supergirl is helping them now. Oliver apparently has a ‘resting bitch face’. Dalton is still under Jessie’s control. Also, J’onn is explaining to Barry what happened to him and how they found him._

**S.T.A.R Labs [Central City]**   
**The same time**

Kara and Oliver stood in front of Team Arrow, the D.E.O Agents and Lex as they came together for a group meeting. Some of them were going to focus their attention on how to get Caitlin and Cisco out of their confinement whilst the others were going to focus on how to trace Barry; Oliver was leading the latter whilst Kara took control of the former. 

“This is what we’ll do--” Kara began to her group, being interrupted by another D.E.O Agent who ran into the room. They all seemed to love doing that, Oliver noticed and turned to the out of breath agent, his body tense.

“What’s wrong?” Alex asked the agent, moving from her position in front of the monitors to be at her agent’s side.

“We found Mr. Allen’s location,” He said, catching his breath. Oliver’s eyes went wide. He wanted to get Barry as soon as possible.

“He’s in some warehouse in this place called Ohio,” The Agent said, moving to the computers and bringing up where they traced him to. Felicity rushed over to the monitors, trying to hack into the security system as she tried to see if there were any cameras in there that would help them locate Barry and see him. Once she managed to get into the feed, it only took a couple seconds, 2.9 to be exact, before she found Barry. He seemed exhausted, Oliver noticed as he watched Barry struggle to keep his eyes open. There was a huge bruise around his throat, and Oliver wanted to find the man that had done that to him and hit him. Barry was kind, he had a heart, and most of all, he was the light in the dark. Barry shouldn’t have to see how cruel the world was. 

“Why would they make him go all the way to Ohio?” Kara questioned. Oliver sighed and turned to Felicity, hoping she would back him up in what he was about to tell them. 

“They didn’t make him go,” Oliver began, “Barry was actually already in Ohio before any of this even happened”

Alex turned to Oliver, she could see that he was battling with himself on whether or not to tell them. She could see the pure conflict in the man’s eyes. 

“Well, let's find Barry first before we go into why he was down there in the first place,” Alex answered suddenly, seeing the relief in Oliver’s eyes as he looked at her. She knew it must be difficult to talk about if Oliver was hesitant to talk about it. They all nodded and began ordering the agents to get themselves ready. If Jessie wanted a war, he was going to get one.

* * *

**Warehouse [Ohio]**   
**Two hours later**

Green Arrow and Supergirl cased the environment whilst Alex and the D.E.O Agents set guard outside of the building. They were going to secure the perimeter whilst Green Arrow and Supergirl went to save their friend. Lex was supposed to be included but he had been taken back to Earth-38 by J’onn when he arrived on Earth-1.

Supergirl made eye contact with Alex before she turned back around and faced the building, Green Arrow to her left. The duo walked to the door in front of them, the agents all cocking their guns as they waited to see if anyone was going to run out of the door when it opened. Once the door swung open, thanks to Supergirl’s super strength, it revealed a pitch black room, nothing was in there either. 

Green Arrow entered first, his bow drawn as he cased his environment, he eyed every little hole and crack in the foundation and the walls as they slowly ventured into the warehouse. Supergirl’s x-ray vision was very useful as they navigated through the dark warehouse. From what she could tell, they took everything and left, making her believe that they had taken Barry as well. The cameras they were using to look at Barry had been shut off just before they left, so they had no idea what condition their friend was in. 

As they neared the edge of the building, they heard someone talking through a radio. Supergirl and Green Arrow hid behind one of the many pillars in the building, hoping that they hadn’t been spotted. Supergirl used her x-ray vision once more and realised that he was the only guard in the whole building. Why they left him behind was beyond her but it didn’t matter. She turned to Green Arrow who nodded his head, preparing himself to take on the guard. Sure, they could just use Kara to just pin him against the wall but a small part of him hoped the guy would cooperate with them.

They walked out of their hiding spot, Green Arrow had his bow pointing blindly at a random point as he couldn’t see, with how dark it was. Supergirl guided his bow to where the guard was and they continued their walk to where the guard was, surprised at the tiny bit of light there was in this section of the building. The guard noticed them when some of the light finally hit them. He jumped and went to grab his gun, aiming at then shakily as he stared at the bow pointed directly at him.

“Lower your weapon,” Green Arrow demanded, his voice gruff as he addressed the guard. The man slowly lowered his weapon, putting it back into his holster. Supergirl stared at him as he did as he was told. She thought he’d put up a fight more. With him being the only guard there and all.

“Where is Barry Allen?” Supergirl demanded, staring at the guard intently. 

He shook as he looked at Supergirl. His eyes were wide with fear but nonetheless, he motioned to a door, his whole body trembling as Green Arrow stood closer to him. The quiver inches away from his chest.

“He’s-he’s in there..” The man said, tears in his eyes, “You need me to open the door though”

Green Arrow snarled, but he didn’t move forward. Instead, he dropped his weapon and waited patiently as the guard ran over to the control box and entered a pin, the door sliding open within seconds. 

“There are a few more control panels I could open for you,” He admitted sheepishly, guilt evident on his face. Supergirl and Green Arrow nodded, following behind the guard as he willingly opened all of the doors--well at least they think he did it willingly. Green Arrow was 90% sure he was just trying not to end up dead.

They made it to the final door and the guard went to unlock it with a key, when Supergirl broke the lock open with her bare hands, scaring the man. Green Arrow smirked and ran to the door, opening it full force whilst Supergirl kept an eye on their little friend.

Green Arrow gasped at the sight of his friend. He was half laying on the wall and half laying on this pipe. Either way, he was unconscious. The heat finally hit him once he escaped the shock he felt from how his friend looked. He turned to Supergirl, desperation in his eyes as he saw how Barry’s chest was rising and falling unevenly.

“Supergirl, we need to cool the room down,” Green Arrow told her, “It’s boiling in here”

Supergirl’s eyes widened and once she had made sure the guard wouldn’t run, she used her larger lung capacity and used her excess amount of breath and cooled the room down, glad that the room stayed mildly cool afterwards. Green Arrow ran over to his friend, trying to ignore how pale he was. The cuffs on his arms and legs were easy to rip off of his friend, it was the chain he had difficulty with. It was on tight, and with the amount of sweat on it thanks to Barry, it was almost impossible to get off. He managed though, and he had ripped the tape off of Barry’s mouth as he moved to pick him up and place him out of the room. 

Supergirl and the guard watched as Green Arrow attempted to make Barry’s breathing better. He seemed to be aware that someone was touching him though, and Green Arrow had to stop himself from pulling away as Barry continued to flinch under the contact. The guard was led away from the pair by Supergirl moments later, tears in her eyes as she realised how close they had been to losing their friend. 

Green Arrow pulled his hood down and remained crouched down beside Barry, trying to rouse the Speedster. He watched as Barry’s eyes rolled underneath his eyelids, trying to open up and see the outside world. Oliver sighed as he patted Barry’s face, tears building in his eyes as he heard the whimpers coming out of his friend’s mouth.

“C’mon now, Barr,” Oliver whispered, checking Barry’s pulse, “Stay with me”

Barry’s pulse was rapid, but incredibly weak. He could literally feel it vibrating underneath his hand. He needed medical attention, and fast.

Oliver picked Barry up bridal style and made sure his head lolled onto his shoulder. He ran through the building, meeting Kara about halfway into the building. Whilst it was still dark, the guard thankfully had also turned some lights on so he could at least see where he was going. How thoughtful of him. 

Once they got out of the warehouse, Alex rushed over to Oliver and Barry, ordering some of the agents to find the paramedic they had brought with them whilst the others just watched as Oliver placed Barry onto the floor and tilted his head back. He had stopped breathing by the time he and Oliver had gotten outside. The guard was escorted away by one of the many agents that had been ordered to find the medic. Kara watched in horror as her friend’s chest rose and then fell back down, doing the same thing mechanically as Oliver breathed for him. 

“Breathe with me, Barry,” Oliver panted, taking another breath for Barry. He was not about to lose his best friend. Not like this.

It was a total of 5 minutes and 33 seconds until Barry took a breath of his own, gasping as he heaved for breath. Everyone sighed in relief, even the guard who wasn’t that far from the action at all, and Oliver rolled Barry on to his side, rubbing Barry’s back as he coughed up nothing. 

“Easy, you’re okay,” Oliver said softly to Barry, easing the younger man into a sitting position. Barry’s eyes remained closed as he leaned against Oliver for support. He was beyond exhausted. The medic arrived moments later, a stretcher with her as she kneeled beside the duo, feeling for Barry’s pulse.

“We should take him back to S.T.A.R Labs,” The medic said to Oliver, taking some of Barry’s weight as they lifted him up and laid him against the stretcher. Oliver sighed softly as Barry slowly moved his hand, keeping it weakly on Oliver’s wrist. The medic noticed the action and nodded for Oliver to stay with Barry whilst they were on their way to the lab. It was clear that Oliver knew how to ground him, even if he was really out of it. 

They arrived at S.T.A.R Labs hours later, considering they were in Ohio and all. Barry had been out of it the entire time, the only time he was responsive was when the medic began checking his ribs to see if they were damaged and he whimpered in pain, causing Oliver to comfort him. 

* * *

**D.E.O [National City]**   
**Present time**

“And so after Oliver got you breathing again, we brought you back to S.T.A.R Labs but when your heart began to slow to a dangerous pace we brought you here,” J’onn explained to Barry, who just simply nodded. They all could tell it was a lot for him to process.

“So, if-if Lex Luthor never came to my earth in the first place?” Barry questioned.

“Then you would’ve for sure died,” Alex answered grimly, her eyes lighting up though as Oliver approached them.

“About time you woke up, Queen” Alex commented, smirking as Oliver grumbled and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. He looked down when he walked into a chair. Barry looked up and smiled at Oliver, gratefulness in his eyes as he stared at his mentor.

Oliver yawned and Barry simply chuckled, as did Alex and Winn. J’onn just rolled his eyes fondly and smiled when Barry gave Oliver a hug. In fact, they all smiled as Barry and Oliver hugged. Barry had told them in the past that Oliver was never fond of hugs so they knew not to embrace the man but he seemed so relaxed in it that they seemed to believe otherwise. 

“Thank you, for saving my life,” Barry whispered into Oliver’s ear, squeezing the older man. 

Oliver just nodded his head and hugged Barry tighter. He really was scared he was going to lose Barry for a second if they never managed to get him breathing again.

“Barry!” Kara exclaimed from the other side of the room. Barry and Oliver pulled away as Kara ran over, forgetting about her super strength and pulling Barry in for a bone-crushing hug; like she actually crushed most of his bones from the hug.

“Now that we’re all together again,” Alex began, “I think it’s about time we go find Jessie and end this once and for all”

“First, we gotta retake Dalton and rescue Caitlin and Cisco,” Barry pointed out. Oliver agreed as did Alex. Winn and J’onn remained silent, they didn’t know what side to agree to. 

“Well then, lets create a plan and set it into motion!” Kara exclaimed once more, wrapping an arm around both Barry and Oliver.

This was going to be fun.


	17. Chapter 17

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sorry that this has pretty much taken ages to deal with. You know how shows have like mid-season finales? Say that this is that :)

**D.E.O [National City]**   
**The same time**

Kara, Barry and Oliver were all divided into two teams. Kara’s team were going to go rescue Caitlin and Cisco whilst Barry and Oliver’s team were going to try and save everyone from Jessie’s wrath down in Dalton Academy. Felicity, John and Thea had all agreed to stay in S.T.A.R Labs and be supporting them all behind the desk. Although it wasn’t ideal for Thea and John, especially with their training, they had still agreed to do it, only because they had Alex and J’onn going with them. 

“So, we’ll scope the perimeter and then we’ll infiltrate them through the vent system and through the huge laundry drops,” Barry explained as he pointed to all of the locations on the blueprint they had. Oliver nodded and began pointing to certain areas.

“I think we should save the auditorium for last,” Oliver began, seeing the shock on Barry’s face, “That’s where most of the guards would be”

“He’s right, Barry,” Alex said, “You said that the Auditorium is where your friends and family are and if Jessie’s after you, he’ll have the highest amount of guards surrounding them”

Barry sighed and reluctantly nodded his head, he wanted to save his family from this. They didn’t need to be caught up in some high school grudge; it wasn’t fair for them.

“Now, if Jessie is there, I say we let Barry deal with him until Kara can come and deal with him,” J’onn explained, “Seeing as their both aliens and my powers only do so much”

“What powers does Jessie even have?” Oliver asked. He and Barry had no idea what they were dealing with, so he might as well tell them so they were prepared.

“He can fly, he has heat vision, he can even bring people back to life,” J’onn listed, making Barry’s eyes go wide. That’s how he had enlisted Zoloman’s help, he had brought him back to life.. Oliver had seen how Barry’s face went to a pure white shade, he could see the terror and the disgust. That man had broken Barry and stripped Caitlin of her humanity. That man put them through hell. He deserved to rot in hell for the rest of his life. 

“Barry?,” Alex asked softly, placing her hand onto his shoulder.

“So that’s how he did it,” Barry whispered brokenly, “That’s how he brought Zoom back to life”

J’onn and Winn stared at each other in confusion whilst Kara looked at Barry with a pained expression. Oliver placed a hand onto Barry’s shoulder and squeezed comfortingly whilst Alex sighed softly. Kara had explained to her what had happened when she had found out herself and she felt bad for Barry.

“If Zoom shows up, do you think you’d be able to handle him, J’onn?” Oliver questioned, looking at the martian. He stared back at the archer in shock. Why would they want him to take on a speedster? Surely it should be Barry doing that, right?

“You’ll be able to beat him, “Oliver commented quickly, “He knows mine and Barry’s strengths and weaknesses. He doesn’t know yours”

J’onn nodded after a second. He couldn’t entirely argue with that logic at all. Kara looked at J’onn with a thankful look, and that look was not missed by Winn. He’d have to ask Kara why she was glad J’onn was going up against this ‘Zoom’ character rather than Barry and Oliver.

“Okay, now let’s get on with the rest of the plan,” Barry said, closing his eyes momentarily then reopening them. He took a deep breath and pointed on the blueprint at specific locations.

* * *

**Dalton Academy [Ohio]**   
**Hours later**

The sun had begun to rise once more as Barry, Oliver, Alex, J’onn and the D.E.O Agents arrived at the school. They watched as everyone who was waiting outside the school for loved ones parted ways for them, seeing that ‘The Flash’ and ‘Green Arrow’ had arrived. 

Green Arrow ran and jumped on top of a squad car, gaining everyone’s attention. Flash smirked as Green Arrow cleared his throat and stared at everyone.

“You all need to vacate the premise,” He began, “It will not be safe for any of you in the next few minutes”

The cops stared at them incredulously. They wanted to save everyone just as badly as they did but they were actual cops, this was their job; to protect and serve. Slowly, some of the parents and locals began to back away, all of them moving on to the other side of the street as the cops turned to each other. Soon enough, the cops began backing away as well, keeping all of the civilians on the outside away from the building.

Flash nodded at an officer in thanks and turned his attention back onto the school. He took another deep breath and felt the speedforce begin to work its magic in his system. He felt the shocks throughout his body, and they felt good. Alex stared in awe as she saw the lightning buzzing around him, almost acting like a protective barrier in case anyone tried to attack him. Green Arrow pulled down his bow and arrow, aiming directly at one of the windows in the school. Alex and the D.E.O agents all pulled out their guns, cocking them all as they aimed at the main doors to the school.

“Let’s do this,” Flash muttered, walking closer to the door. There was a mischievous glint in his eyes as he saw a security camera. 

“Jessie St James!” He yelled, cupping his hands around his mouth to be louder. 

They all waited a moment, the whole place was tense as they did. Then, Flash caught sight of the familiar blue lightning. The same blue lightning he had been fearing. Zoom was there.

“Where’s Jessie?” Flash yelled at Zoom, trying not to remember how badly that man had hurt him. This was not the place nor the time. 

“He’s not here right now,” Zoom replied, his voice still as chilling as it was the first time he met Flash all those years ago. Green Arrow growled softly, he really wanted Jessie there just so he could hurt him, “He’s a little bit preoccupied with his plan”

“What plan?” Flash demanded, his whole body shaking as he stared at his father’s killer. He could hear Winn screaming in the comm system that he was too ‘good looking’ to die, he simply rolled his eyes at that and continued eye contact with the man who killed his father.

“The Enlightenment,” Zoom gasped, and Flash knew he was smirking underneath his cowl.

“Just you wait,” He seethed, “Lord Jessie will bring us the new world.. The better world”

Green Arrow scoffed and shot a warning shot at the door. It sent electrical impulses throughout the entire building, cutting off power as well as radio systems and on any electrical device. Zoom growled and ran loser to Flash, they were just inches away from each other.

“If you kill me, your son will join me,” He whispered to Flash, “If your little archer friend kills me, there is a good chance he will die”

Flash took a deep breath but he didn’t bother speaking. Instead, he simply flashed out of the way, leaving Zoom in J’onn’s path as he flew straight at the speedster, taking the fight into the air. Alex, Green Arrow and Flash all looked at the sky before turning their attention back to the school.

“Clear the perimeter,” Alex ordered the D.E.O Agents, moving closer to Green Arrow and Flash. The trio all looked at each other and then back to the door. It was about time they saved them all. 

“Don’t go through the front,” Green Arrow commented, nodding to the security cameras around the front, “Let’s go to the back and go through there”

“Remember, the Auditorium is last on the list,” Flash added, grabbing the other two and speeding them to the back of the school. 

* * *

**Warehouse [Ohio]**   
**The same time**

Supergirl marched her way through the building, all of the guards shooting bullets at her but they simply just bounced off of her. She smirked as they eventually ran out of bullets. Supergirl innocently turned towards them all, rolling her eyes as they all slowly placed their weapons onto the ground. 

“Boys, boys, boys,” She sighed, “don’t make me do this the hard way”

They all ran out of the building, screaming and trembling the whole way. Supergirl chuckled lightly, turning back around to the lone elevator in the room. 

“Are you going somewhere?” Someone asked, and Supergirl groaned. How did he escape? _AGAIN_? 

“How did you get away again, Luthor?” She sneered, her whole body stiff as she faced Lex. He looked at her fondly and rolled his eyes, walking to the elevator. Supergirl scoffed and went to try and stop him but then an alarm began blaring throughout the building. Supergirl and Lex both looked at each other before going into the elevator, pressing the top floor button.

Whilst they despised each other, they did have to look out for each other for the time being. As much as Supergirl didn’t want to. 

* * *

**Dalton Academy [Ohio]**

Flash creeped through one of the empty hallways as he tried not to get caught through the glass on the doors. So far, he had run into a total of 4 guards and they had all run away at the sight of him so he hadn’t actually had to hurt any of them. 

“How’s it looking?” Flash asked into his comm system. It took a moment before he heard it come to life.

“Sorry, a guard tried to take me out” Oliver grunted, and Barry just rolled his eyes. Of course Oliver would talk and beat up a guard.

“Everything’s really quiet so far.” Alex whispered, “I haven’t ran into a single guard so far”

They both heard Oliver grumble something, followed by a laugh from Winn so it was no doubt a sarcastic comment. Flash sighed softly, reaching a classroom with students and a single guard. He stopped just outside the door, his worry levels rising as he watched the guard start to pull his gun out. He needed to step in and fast. 

He opened the door with a resonating bang, glad to catch them all off guard. All of the students sighed in relief whilst the guard pulled his gun and aimed at Flash. He simply rolled his eyes and let the bullets leave the gun. Using his superspeed, he caught them all before they had a chance to even get past a single desk. The guard stared at his empty gun in horror as Flash ripped it out of his hand and punched him square in the face. He was out cold.

“All of you stay in here until either myself or an officer comes and tells you to leave,” He directed the students, staying outside the door until they had locked themselves inside. Flash sighed in relief, he knew they’d be okay if the guard was to wake up. He had chucked his gun and his bullets out of the window just before he left.

As he moved through the school, his thoughts kept on dancing between his son and the ‘Enlightenment’. What was going to happen? Was his son alive? God, he had been through torture enough without seeing his son but after getting the photo off of Hunter, he felt it hurt a lot more.

“Not so fast, Flash” A voice said. Flash turned around and was met with someone he thought he’d never see again.

“Mark Mardon,” Flash growled out. His eyes suddenly a darker colour.

* * *

**Warehouse [Ohio]**

Supergirl used her heat vision as the guards used their shields against Lex’s powers. The bottoms dropped off, revealing their less protected legs as Lex used his powers and took them all out.

He turned to Supergirl, a grateful look on his face as he nodded at her. Whilst she just rolled her eyes, she did actually like working with Lex, he knew that when it came down to it, he’d do anything to protect those around him. That was the one thing they could agree on.

“If Jessie is here, let me handle him” Supergirl ordered, punching a guard in the face as he tried to get the drop on them. Lex just nodded and used his powers to light up the building. 

As they neared the main room, a cry caught their attention. More specifically, a baby cry caught their attention. Supergirl nodded Lex into the direction of the room, she knew Caitlin and Cisco were in there as she got their heat signatures from her x-ray vision. Once he was some distance away, Supergirl entered the room to her left, her heart stopping at the situation.

There was Jessie. Pointing a gun at this little kid’s head. Her heart caved in as she recognised the body on the floor.. It was Hunter. He seemed to be alive still though, only barely, however.

“Put the gun down,” She warned softly, stepping further into the room.

“Actually no, I don’t think I will,” Jessie sneered, holding it closer to the boy’s head. Tears pooled inside Supergirl’s eyes as she saw how terrified the baby was. 

“This is what is gonna happen,” Jessie began, standing up, “You’ll take Cisco and Caitlin and get out of here. You’re not gonna try and save this kid because if you do, I’ll put a bullet straight through his tiny brain”

“Your choice, Supergirl” He said, a smile appearing on his face. His screaming stopped when Hunter’s eyes opened, and she realised what had happened. Hunter had tried to protect the kid, but Jessie had beaten the crap out of him. 

Supergirl sighed and began walking towards the door, the screaming of the baby returning as she heard Hunter began yelling at him. This whole situation was awful. 

Once she was in the hallway, she let the tears fall as she heard a gunshot ring throughout the building. The crying she had heard was gone, and she hoped that he hadn’t done it. She prayed that he hadn’t shot that poor kid. He looked familiar though, he reminded her of someone but she just couldn’t put a name on it. Lex, Caitlin and Cisco ran down the hallway seconds later, stopping as they saw the state of their friend.

“Kara?” Caitlin asked softly, tears building in her own eyes as she turned to the room. Her and Cisco shared a look and they both slowly entered, leaving the two aliens out in the corridor.

“He pointed a gun to this kid’s head,” She cried, throwing her arms around Lex, who accepted the hug, “He threatened to shoot a freaking baby in the head just to make a point” 

Her whole body shook as she cried in Lex’s embrace. She didn’t care that she was hugging the person she hated most. She loved being Supergirl, but after seeing that, she just wanted for someone to hug her and tell her it’s all going to be okay. Luckily, Lex was doing just that.

“You might want to come see this,” Cisco said softly to the duo. Kara pulled away from Lex and wiped her eyes, preparing herself for whatever massacre had taken place in the room.

* * *

**Dalton Academy [Ohio]**

Green Arrow huffed as he took down another guard. They just kept coming at him. They also seemed to be awful fighters, he noted. 

The Auditorium was last on the list, so he headed in that direction. He was supposed to meet up with Flash and a few D.E.O Agents before they engaged in the room. As he arrived, he noticed that Alex and J’onn were both there, confusing Oliver. Wasn’t J’onn meant to be dealing with Zoom?

  
“I handed him over to this flying witch thing,” He commented, making him even more confused but nonetheless it meant one less speedster around. Correction, one less demonic-crazy-ballistic speedster around. 

Flash sped by seconds later, blood covering his face as he tried taking his cowl off. Green Arrow stared in shock at the gaping hole on his left side, it was caking the pants of his suit a deeper crimson colour than before. Alex tried to apply pressure to the wound whilst Flash’s blood-stained hands finally ripped the cowl off of his face, helping him breathe easier. 

“What happened?” Green Arrow asked, ripping his sleeves off and tying them together. He handed them to Alex who continued to apply pressure to the wound, using all of her strength. Flash swayed on his feet for a moment, his whole face suddenly alarmingly pale and Green Arrow felt as if he had been taken back to the Warehouse where he found Barry barely breathing.J’onn grabbed the man before he tipped backwards, laying him against the wall outside the door, holding him down as he tried to weakly get up. 

“Guy… came… out… of… nowhere,” Barry commented softly, giving up at trying to get up. His harsh breathing made him feel incredibly light headed, and soon, he found that the wall was surprisingly comfy for his head to relax against. 

“Keep him alive whilst we go deal with the guards in there,” Oliver commanded, patting Barry on the shoulder softly. This kid had been through a lot in these past two days. When was he ever going to catch a break? 

“‘m think the bullet is still inside,” Barry slurred, his eyes sliding in and out of focus as he looked at Alex. Alex patted the side of his face softly, trying to gain his attention as he struggled to keep his mind there. 

“Stay with me Barry,” She pleaded, “Let’s not have a repeat of what happened yesterday, shall we?” 

Barry nodded and gasped softly as she pressed even harder against his wound. He lifted his left arm, numbly trying to push Alex’s hands away. He wanted the pain to stop, he needed her to let go. 

Alex turned her attention to the door, hearing thuds and yelling from the room. She recognised Joe and Iris’ voices, and she turned her attention back to Barry. He was looking at her through half-lidded vision and she cursed softly. He needed to stay awake.

“Joe and Iris are inside,” She reassured to him, waiting for it to sink in, “They’ll be here soon” 

Moments later, Joe and Iris stormed out of the doors, gasping as they saw the state of him. He was awfully pale, his eyes were struggling to focus, because of the bloodloss, and his breathing was laboured. 

“Bear,” Joe gasped, grabbing Barry’s hand as he tried to push Alex away once more. Iris stayed at his left, rubbing circles into his shoulder as he closed his eyes and grimaced through the pain. She listened to her father as he tried to calm Barry down, trying to get him to quieten down. 

A noise gained Alex’s, Joe’s and Iris’ attention away from the bleeding out hero. They all looked up, glad to see Kara, Cisco and Caitlin all standing there. Caitlin rushed over to Barry, crouching down beside Alex and taking over applying pressure. Joe wrapped an arm around Barry’s shoulders and moved him to a sitting up position, making it easier for Caitlin to see how deep the wound was. Iris tried her hardest to focus on Barry but she couldn’t. There was blood staining the wooden wall, making it go to a maroon tone. 

“Easy, Barr,” Joe said, rubbing Barry’s back instead. Caitlin got ready to lift Barry up whilst Oliver and J;onn walked back out, concern shining in their eyes. Oliver took his jacket off, glad that he had allowed Felicity to make the sleeves removable, and wrapped it around the speedster. First, he had to save Barry’s life after he stopped breathing, and now, he had to help him recover from a bullet wound. 

They managed to ease Barry up into a standing position, letting him slump against Joe as they walked to the breach Cisco opened, waiting to take them back to S.T.A.R Labs. Oliver and J’onn stayed however, they were going to make sure everyone knew it was safe to leave the classrooms. Oliver tapped his comm, making sure that the D.E.O Agents knew that it was done. 

They had done it. They had taken back Dalton.

* * *

**Unknown Location**   
**Hours later**

Hunter groaned as he came to. He remembered what had happened very vividly, but he still remembered what had happened. Jessie had taken off with Barry’s son, and from the looks of things, he had taken him too.

The woods were quiet, he noted. Usually, you could hear crickets, frogs, the occasional waterfall. Not this time. They were eerily quiet and it uneased the Speedster. Since when has anything in life been quiet? He stood up, groaning at his throbbing head. He glanced around the woods, realising it was pitch black. Sure, he could just speed around the entire forest and see where he was, but he didn’t feel strong enough just yet. 

He heard rustling moments later, making him jump. He knew the woods usually had some kind of animals in them, like deer, the occasional bear. He just hoped it was the former rather than the latter.

He needed to figure out where he was.. And fast


	18. Chapter 18

**West Household [Central City]**   
**12:23 pm**

It had been two weeks since Jessie attacked Dalton Academy. During the first week, Kara, Alex and J’onn continued to try and find his location, hoping that they still had time to get him. Barry had fully healed by the time they had gone back to their earth. Oliver and Team Arrow had returned to Star City after Vigilante had made his reappearance. 

“Iris, do you mind helping me in the backyard?” Joe asked his daughter. 

They were planning on having a barbecue, the entirety of Team Flash to sort out the tension between themselves and Barry after the whole secret. Barry was currently lying on the couch, Iris sat next to him as they watched an old sitcom on the TV. Barry didn’t bother to look up as Iris stood up and went to help her father. 

“Barry, you okay?” Cecile asked, placing herself in Iris’ seat beside Barry. He turned to her slowly, his lips in a tight line as he did. She could tell he wanted to reply, say something but he didn’t. He focused his attention back onto the TV. 

“Bear?” She tried once more, sighing softly as he didn’t even bother to look at her. He had been like that with them all. He had been ignoring them as best as he could, and they knew it was hurting him more than themselves. Whilst he had been ignoring them, he had began speaking to his friends from High school a lot more.

“You know, I’m sure their intentions were good when they kept that secret from you,” she began, standing up, “We can tell that you know that too”

Cecile sighed once more as Barry didn’t respond to her. She turned around and left Barry alone in the room, letting him mull over her words. 

“I can’t just forgive and forget, just yet,” Barry whispered to himself, closing his eyes to try and calm himself down. He wasn’t about to break down. Not yet.

* * *

**Lima [Ohio]**   
**The same time**

“So, you’re 100% sure that your dad doesn’t mind us holding these meetings in here?” Thad asked Stacey. Thad, Nick, Jeff, David and Stacey were all in Alan’s study room whilst they were trying to figure out Jessie’s true motives.

“Like I told you last week,” Stacey began, “He is completely okay with it”

Nick and Jeff smiled at each other, holding hands as they listened to Stacey explain to Thad why he was fine with it. After the whole Jessie incident, Dalton had closed for good, there were just too many bad moments there as of recently. It was painful to hear the news, but they understood why. That first attack on Dalton had hurt, it had left its marks on so many students. Now, students had actually died. There was no way that Dalton could ever come back from something like that. 

“So, Hunter just vanished?” David asked, looking more interested in the conversation.

Stacey nodded, grabbing her phone and pulling up her’s and Barry’s messages. She passed her phone to the older man and he read them all. It was true. Barry’s friend Kara, who looked exactly like McKinley’s very own Marley Rose, had clarified that Hunter had gotten away when she went to go rescue Vibe and Killer Frost. 

“That’s messed up,” David began, “I mean who points a loaded gun at a two-year olds head?”

“Jessie apparently,” Thad scoffed. They knew Jessie wanted to be feared but that was something else. He didn’t care about people other than himself. 

“Is your dad still throwing that gala at the lake house?” Nick asked, turning to Stacey.

After the events at Dalton, her father had decided to hold a gala/ fundraiser to help support the families who had been affected the most. He had asked the New Directions and The Warblers to perform but she knew that he really wanted Barry to perform. He was hoping that Barry would still be in Ohio but he wasn’t by the time he had decided to do it, so he gave up on hoping that his nephew would turn up so he decided to invite the clubs that had been affected greatly. 

“Yeah, he is,” Stacey said, taking her phone back from David.

“Is he gonna have security there?” Jeff asked. Now, he wasn’t as smart as the others but he had seen enough TV shows to know that there was a high chance that the criminals would try to bust the gala. Especially if they wanted someone to suffer the worst. 

“No, he’s not..” Stacey led off, coming to the same conclusion as Jeff. 

“Well then, let’s convince him to bring some.” David concluded, standing up and heading towards the door. Stacey, Nick, Thad and Jeff followed after him. This could be their chance to finally get Jessie once and for all. 

* * *

_Foundry [Star City]_   
_The same time_

Felicity was busy looking into Jessie’s disappearance when she spotted something. Oliver, John and Thea turned to the hacker after hearing her stop rapidly typing. They all saw the look she had on her face and they all felt uneasy. Hopefully it was nothing bad.

“I think I know where Jessie might be attacking next,” She said.

She put what she had seen up on the monitors on the wall and waited for their reactions. Only Oliver gasped. Thea and Diggle looked at the pair confused. Of course they didn’t understand what the big deal was. It looked like a normal gala poster for them.

“Oliver, we need to warn Barry,” Felicity said, gaining Oliver’s attention. He nodded and pulled his phone out, dialing Barry’s number.

“Wait, what’s the big deal?” Thea asked. She didn’t know anything about Sebastian Smythe; Barry’s alter ego. 

“Nothing bad will happen, it’s just a gala” John added, supporting Thea’s questioning face. 

“Yeah, but it will go bad,” Felicity contradicted, watching as Oliver left the room from his call with Barry.

“It will go horribly wrong, especially if said gala was being held by Barry’s uncle” She added, not bothering to look up and see their reactions. The silence they were in told her everything. She continued to work until a red blur appeared, standing in the middle of the room as he calmed down from the run. Oliver walked in moments later, his phone off as he looked at his friend. 

“Damn, you’re fast” Thea muttered under her breath and John simply chuckled softly. Either in disbelief or because of Thea's reaction was unknown but they didn’t care. 

“Looks like I gotta make a phone call,” Barry said to Oliver, nodding his head at the older man before walking out of the room. 

“Jessie wants for Barry to suffer, that’s the main reason he took Barry’s kid,” Oliver explained, “and so if his uncle is throwing a gala like that, I can guarantee that Jessie will make an appearance”

* * *

**Lima [Ohio]**   
**12:34 pm**

Alan looked at his lake house in awe. He had hired decorators to turn the place into a professional house set up and it looked stunning. 

He turned his attention from the house to his phone when it began ringing. Checking who it was, a smile lit up his face as he answered. It was about time this kid decided to speak to him again.

“Hey, Bas,” He said, smiling widely.

“ _So, word on the street is that you’re hosting a gala_ ,” Barry began and Alan knew why he was mentioning it. After the fallout at Dalton, he didn’t want the same thing to happen at the gala.

“You heard correct, kiddo,” He said, finding a rogue seat and sitting in it. 

“ _Well, I’ve got a favour to ask_ ,” Barry started.

Alan just nodded his head as he listened to his nephew ramble on. He made very valid points.

“I’ll see what I can do,” Alan answered, “Also, I’ll make sure that the invites get sent”

“ _Thank you_ ,” Barry said, “ _I’ll see you soon then_ ”

“Take care, son,” Alan said, ending the call. 


	19. Chapter 19

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I promise the gala will only be 2 parts instead of like 5 like the Dalton Academy one.

**Lakehouse [Ohio]**   
**11:32 pm**

Barry and Oliver stared at each other as Jessie held a gun to a poor woman’s head. She seemed petrified. 

This wasn’t supposed to go like this. They were there for protection but they had failed, and now this poor woman could have her brain blown out of her head at any given second. 

“Now, you’re going to let me get away,” Jessie began, he could hear the sirens coming closer. Sure, he could just take them all out regardless, but he wanted them to let him go. He wanted them to make sure he got to install a fear into them all.

The gun got pressed further into the woman’s head and she yelled out in pain, trying to desperately get Jessie to stop.

“What’s it gonna be?” He taunted.

* * *

**Foundry [Star City]**   
**Yesterday**

Team Flash were gathered in the Arrow Cave (Barry and Caitlin had to hold Oliver back before he could rip Cisco’s head off for calling it that. He is not getting done for copyright with that) and they were going over their plan. 

“So, why didn’t we know that Barry is related to the multi-billionaire and state attorney; Alan Smythe?” Thea questioned her older brother, making Barry roll his eyes. Oliver just chuckled and turned to Barry, a smile on his face. Barry, and pretty much everyone else, had noticed that Oliver had been a lot happier recently. He had been so happy recently that he began smiling more, so much that they stopped questioning it. His smile had grown on them all. 

“Because it never came up?” Barry squeaked out awkwardly, smiling back at Oliver. Joe just laughed at Barry’s shyness and rubbed his shoulder comfortingly. They were still at odds, but after the barbecue, the tension had left and all that remained was the awkwardness they all shared when they were in the same room. 

“Anyway,” Oliver said, taking the attention off of Barry, “How about we remain focused on the task shall we?”

Everyone nodded and they began talking about their plan once more. Although Oliver knew that Barry knew how to act at a gala of this standard, he still couldn’t help but feel nervous. This was hopefully going to be the last time they’d come face-to-face with Jessie--that obviously also relied on if Jessie was going to make an appearance or not. 

“So, you and Barry are going to the gala,” John began, “you’re playing best friends, am I right?”

They both nodded.

“Okay, and so Barry will actually be performing I assume that was part of the deal with your Uncle,” Joe added, making Barry blush. It was true. In order for this to be a win-win situation, he had agreed to perform at the gala. In fact, he had been rehearsing for it the past few days.

“Yeah, I am,” Barry said, making Thea squeal. She hadn’t heard Barry sing when they first went to Ohio two years ago, so now that she could finally hear him sing had been a lifelong goal of her’s. Barry sent Oliver a puzzled look and he just chuckled, letting his hand slide down his face at his sister’s enthusiasm.  
“Yeah, I’ll be performing with Jessie’s ex,” Barry chuckled to himself at that. He was going there to try and stop the man who wanted him dead but he also ended up singing with his ex who he had a crush on for ages. 

“Wait, that madman dated ‘Rachel Berry’?” Thea screamed. How did she not know this? Barry looked at her stunned. How did she know that he was singing with Rachel? Not even his family knew that. Felicity was flabbergasted. Why didn’t she know Barry, her adorable dummy, was singing a duet with one of the best singers in America--second to Mercedes Jones of course.

“Moving on,” Barry said sternly, hoping that everyone would understand he didn’t want to talk about it at that very moment. Only Oliver picked up on the tone in his voice though. 

“Back to the plan, guys,” Oliver snapped. He knew what it was like to be uncomfortable in the spotlight. When he first returned from Lian Yu, he had been thrown right back into his old life, the life he despised. 

Barry sent Oliver a smile of gratitude and Oliver simply smiled back, turning his attention from his friend back to the plan. 

The plan should go off without a hitch--hopefully.

* * *

**Lima Airport [Ohio]**   
**1:54 pm**

Oliver and Barry walked through the airport in ease. They had said farewell to their friends when they were at S.T.A.R Labs and now the plan was set into motion. They collected their luggage from the luggage claim and headed towards the arrival area. Alan and Stacey were supposedly picking them up from the airport and taking them to their home so they didn’t need to book a hotel room. 

“So, how does it feel to be back?” Oliver asked Barry once they were away from the huge crowds surrounding the conveyor belts. Barry just shrugged his shoulders and looked around the airport. He was hungry, and he knew they had some amazing food places open.

“What’s going on, Barry?” Oliver asked once more, grabbing Barry’s arm to prevent him from walking away. Barry looked at Oliver’s hand on his arm as if he had been stabbed. He sucked in a deep breath and looked up at his friend, putting a convincing smile on his face. He was fine. It’s not like his kid is still in the hands of a madman or anything.

Barry sighed, “Jessie still has my kid, Ollie”

Oliver froze. He forgot about that. Whilst they were all relaxing and enjoying the break off, Barry had been worrying about his kid. The son he never got to meet.. No wonder he seemed distant at times, he was too busy praying that he got to meet his son. He remembered Barry’s reaction to when Kara told him that Jessie had directed a gun--a loaded gun-- to his son’s head. He went ballistic. 

* * *

**S.T.A.R Labs [Central City]**   
**One week earlier**

Barry laid on the medbay bed, feeling drained after the examination Caitlin had given him. She had insisted that he ease back into being The Flash again after he had lost so much blood from the bullet hole. Thankfully, it was easy for Caitlin to remove, so she did that the moment he had been settled on the gurney the moment they arrived back at S.T.A.R Labs after they went to Dalton. 

Oliver hadn’t left his side since he first got placed on the bed the day they came back. Barry knew why though. He had almost died twice. Two times too many, he realised. Both times, Oliver had been able to help keep him alive, and he would be damned if Oliver was going to stop trying to protect him.

Kara entered the medbay moments later, she looked tired. Barry sat up, grimacing as he did. His side still hurt, even if it had been fully healed by now. Oliver wanted to help him, but he held himself back. Instead, he pulled up a chair beside the bed and motioned for Kara to sit in it.

“Barry.. I wasn’t completely honest with you about what happened at the warehouse,” She began, she sniffed and Barry wanted to get up and hug her but he remained sitting up on the bed, “Jessie.. He-he had this kid with him..”

Barry stopped breathing. No-no.. This was not happening.. His son was alive.. He was alive. He had to be. Kara studied Barry’s face, all she saw was the terrified two-year old screaming in Jessie’s hold as he pressed the barrel of the gun further into his head.

“He-he was screaming as Jessie held a gun at his head..” Kara continued softly, tears cascading down her face, “Jessie said if I didn’t let him escape he would’ve shot the little boy in the head”

Oliver looked at both Barry and Kara. Barry had gone pure white as Kara was explaining what had happened. He knew that he must’ve been thinking of the situation. Kara looked so rough, and sorry. They both knew that she let Jessie get away, to save his son, but if that was the case, then why was she crying as she explained it to them? No-one had died.. Right?

“Hunter had tried to save him..” She choked out, and Barry felt his heart stop. Even the heart monitor registered no heart movement from him, “But, Hunter was lying on the floor, unconscious.. I let Jessie go, hoping he wouldn't shoot the innocent kid in the head.. I-I got outside the door, and then a gunshot went off..”

She couldn’t continue the story. Oliver rubbed her back, giving her strength whilst Barry remained motionless. He just sat there, blinking slowly. Kara looked up at her friend, seeing him this stoic hurt her even more. 

“no..” He said softly, biting his lower lip, “no..”

Kara stood up and brought him in for a hug. She cried into his hair as he remained limp in her arms. Oliver just awkwardly sat and watched their hug. Whilst he had been extremely happy and comforting recently, there was no way he was going to join in the hug. That was a big fat no. 

“There were no bodies there,” She whispered into his ear, hugging him tighter. 

“He’ll be okay, Barry,” Oliver said, gaining Kara’s attention but not Barry’s. Oliver sighed and stood up, placing a hand on Barry’s back. He rubbed his back softly, trying to provide comfort for the young man. Kara smiled softly at both Oliver and Barry, feeling a wave of compassion for them both. She knew Oliver hadn’t met his son until the whole Kendra situation and he had missed everything. He had missed his first words. His first steps. His first day at school. He had missed all of that because of Samantha. Now, Barry could miss all of his kid’s firsts as well. It wasn’t fair.

“He better be okay..” Barry mumbled to himself, finally snapping out of the daze he had been in. Kara and Oliver both smiled at Barry in comfort as he finally processed what he had just been told. It had been a long day already for the speedster. 

* * *

**Lima Airport [Ohio]**   
**Present day**

“Well, let’s do everything in our power to bring him home then,” Oliver said to Barry. He hadn’t realised this at the start, but Barry’s optimism had been rubbing off on him recently. It was weird. 

Barry simply nodded his head and continued walking with Oliver to the pick-up spot. The pair continued in silence, not daring to speak. Alan and Stacey met them on the other side. They were both beaming as their eyes landed on the duo. 

“Barry!” Stacey squealed, passing her phone to her dad and running to Barry, tackling him into a hug. It took a moment for him to recover from the hug but he did, dropping his luggage and grabbing his cousin into a tight hug. Oliver just smiled fondly and walked towards Alan, shaking the older man’s hand. Alan smiled at Oliver, taking his bag from him. Barry and Stacey separated moments later, the latter taking her cousin’s bag and rolling it towards her father. Alan chuckled softly and met Barry halfway, hugging him tightly. It had been a while since they had seen each other and all. 

“I bet it was weird not speeding over here,” Alan joked to Barry, squeezing him once more before finally releasing the boy. Barry smiled at his Uncle before grabbing his bag once more. Oliver just patted Barry on the back and engaged in a conversation with Alan, talking about Queen Consolidated. Barry and Stacey engaged in some small talk, not sure what to talk about at the moment.

They drove to the Smythe household in silence, minus the radio buzzing around in the background. Alan had insisted that Oliver would sit up front in the car whilst Barry would sit in the back with Stacey. When they arrived, Barry looked around in confusion. This wasn’t the same house they had before. Since when had they decided to move?

“This is new,” Barry commented, stepping out of the car and moving around to the trunk to collect his bag. Stacey beat him to it though, she also grabbed Oliver’s whilst she was there. Barry just sighed at his cousin’s antics and proceeded to shut the trunk for her. Alan chuckled as he climbed out of the car, seeing Stacey with both of the boys’ bags for them. Oliver thanked Alan for the place to stay the night and walked in with Barry, who seemed extremely quiet. 

“We better get ready for the gala,” Alan said, showing them both to their bedrooms. Barry looked around the room. It had everything he used to have at their old house. It felt weird being back in here, especially after all this time. 

* * *

**S.T.A.R Labs [Central City]**   
**3:22 pm**

“So, Oliver, Barry, Stacey and Alan are all going to the gala venue early to help set up and double check everything,” Iris explained to them all, walking into the Cortex with her phone in her hand. They all nodded and remained where they were, simply sitting in the Cortex. The gala was due to begin at 5:30 pm but they had managed to push it back an extra 30 minutes so it would officially begin at 6:00 pm. 

“Now all we gotta do is wait,” Cisco said, rolling his eyes as he played a game on his phone. 

Caitlin snatched his phone out of his hand, smacking him on the head, “Actually, you have a job to do”

Cisco groaned and reluctantly stood up, grabbing his goggles and gloves. He was not about to enjoy this. Caitlin knew why he wasn’t going to enjoy this. He had to breach over to Earth-2 and bring Jesse and Harry over. He hated Harry with every bone in his petite body. 

“You volunteered!” Caitlin screeched, making Joe chuckle. It was true. He had actually volunteered himself to do this. John just rubbed his forehead. This was seriously giving him a headache, and it hadn’t even been a full hour just yet. 

Cisco grumbled to himself and went over to the center of the room, turning his goggles on and placing them on his face.Soon, a breach appeared and he was gone. Felicity sighed in relief and immediately took control of the computers. Caitlin and John looked at her curiously whilst she worked her magic. A few moments later, music started blasting through the speakers in the building. Only she would play music during a time like this.

“See if you can find any videos of Barry performing,” Joe asked her, taking his attention away from his phone and onto the monitors at the front of the room by the cupboard where they put Barry’s suit. It took her a minute, but soon enough, Barry’s voice began ringing throughout the halls as he sang ‘Live While We’re Young’. 

Iris smirked at her father as she noticed her father had begun singing along. The only reason he knew that song was because of her and her huge crush on One Direction. She’d remember this day. She’d remember her father singing to One Direction--well Barry singing but it’s still One Direction’s song--and she’d make sure he knew that she remembered this exact moment. Why, hello future blackmail.

* * *

**Lakehouse [Ohio]**   
**6:00 pm**

The gala had just started and the main room was already packed with the wealthy and the classiest men and women there ever lived in Ohio. Barry had met with Rachel just before this event had started, hoping that they could get some extra rehearsal time before they were set to perform.

“You’ve really come far, Barry,” Rachel began, stopping him from leaving. She was wearing a dark blue dress, glitter covering the waist of the dress. It was strapless and showed a lot of her right leg, even Barry had to admit she looked stunning in it. Her hair was down and curled, revealing the blonde highlights she had. Barry was wearing a normal suit, but it was an Armani suit with a silver Tag Heuer watch on his left wrist. His tie was plain black, not a single design on it. He also had a gold chain on, but it was covered underneath his dress shirt he was wearing underneath the blazer. 

“What do you mean?” He asked Rachel, looking at her directly.

“Well, I can still see how I despised you in High School but you’ve grown up,” She explained, “You have this new profound maturity about you and it really suits you” 

Maybe there was another reason as to why he hadn’t been as optimistic recently. He no longer saw the world in black and white, instead in a neutral grey. The two worlds, like right and wrong, had merged together, and left him questioning everything and that no longer meant he was seeing things as one or the other. He was seeing things in a new way, a way in which Oliver would be so proud of him. 

“Let’s get out there and show these people that we really are talented singers,” She said, smiling brightly as she brushed some dust off of the suit. He smiled back at her and grabbed her hand, leading her out of the spare room they had found themselves in. 

Oliver was speaking to his Uncle when he and Rachel approached them both, smiling brightly at the two millionaires.

“Wait.. you’re the mayor of Star City,” Rachel realised, gasping as Oliver shook her hand and nodded his head. Barry simply rolled his eyes as Rachel lost her composure and suddenly began complimenting him wildly. 

“Rachel? Sebastian?” A voice asked. They both turned around, surprised to see Quinn and her little sister Kitty standing there with their mother behind them both. Alan moved around to greet Quinn’s mom whilst Stacey started talking to Kitty about the New Directions future. Oliver, Barry, Rachel and Quinn were in an awkward silence until Barry and Oliver’s comms busted to life, making them both groan and turn to each other sheepishly.

“You two okay?” Quinn asked them both. She moved closer to stand next to Barry, wanting to hug him as she hadn’t been able the first time he came back to Ohio after he lost his father. 

“Will you both start to judge us if we begin talking to ourselves?” Barry asked them both, and they shook their heads in confusion. Barry and Oliver both tapped their ears, activating their mics for their ear pieces. Quinn and Rachel looked at the boys weirdly before connecting the dots. They had ear pieces in and were taking orders from people. 

“Felicity, are Harry and Jesse there?” Barry asked into the comms, walking away from the trio. He and Oliver had had a silent conversation with their eyes after they started getting weird glances from both Quinn and Rachel. 

“Yep, Jesse is about to be there in the next few moments but in the meantime, I think it’s time you and the lovely Rachel Berry begin to sing!” Felicity said into the comms, making Barry wince as she screamed the last part. He tapped his mic off and walked back over to the group, seeing Oliver had done the same with his comm. The girls seemed understanding but they were still confused, if anything, Rachel seemed more nervous than Quinn--well her ex-boyfriend was Jessie so it made sense. 

“Let’s get ready to perform then,” Rachel said to Barry, grabbing him by the hand and dragging him towards the band.

It was now or never he guessed.


	20. Chapter 20

**Lakehouse [Ohio]**   
**The same time**

**Rachel**   
_There's a fire startin' in my heart_   
_Reachin' a fever pitch and it's bringin' me out the dark_

A crowd started to gather around the duo as Rachel began to sing. Oliver and Quinn moved closer towards the front, mainly so they could get the best view possible of their friends performing but it made Oliver feel better knowing that he had Barry in his eyesight whilst a deranged alien wanted him dead.

**Barry**   
_Finally, I can see you crystal clear_   
_Go ahead and sell me out and I'll lay your ship bare_

Oliver grinned at Barry as he sang, he knew the kid could sing but he forgot how well he could. Luckily he had turned his mic on moments before the performance. Now Team Flash and Team Arrow get to enjoy listening to Barry sing a duet. 

_See how I'll leave with every piece of you_   
_Don't underestimate the things that I will do_   
_There's a fire starting in my heart_   
_Reachin' a fever pitch and it's bringin' me out the dark_

Both Barry and Oliver could hear Iris, Caitlin and Felicity singing along in the comms and it made them both smile wider. Oliver could barely make out Joe and John’s comments whilst the girls were singing it was that loud. Quinn turned to Oliver with a puzzled look on her face so he grabbed the spare comm set he had and placed it in her ear, muting the mic so no-one would realise she was listening in. 

_The scars of your love remind me of us_   
_They keep me thinkin' that we almost had it all_   
_The scars of your love, they leave me breathless_   
_I can't help feelin'..._

Quinn chuckled softly as she heard the girls singing, well trying to sing anyway. It sounded like a bunch of dying cats to her. Oliver just rolled his eyes fondly as he heard them all begin to bicker. Whilst they all argued a lot, they were the people he considered like a family to him. 

**Rachel & Barry**   
_We could have had it all_   
_(You're gonna wish you never had met me)_   
_Rolling in the deep_   
_(Tears are gonna fall, rolling in the deep)_   
_You had my heart inside of your hand_   
_(You're gonna wish you never had met me)_   
_And you played it to the beat_   
_(Tears are gonna fall, rolling in the deep)_

Barry and Rachel’s voices sounded amazing together, Quinn realised. They blended together perfectly and at times they complimented each other astonishingly. No wonder they had been chosen to sing. 

**Rachel**   
_Baby, I have no story to be told_   
_But I heard one on you and it's gonna make your head burn_   
_Think of me in the depths of your despair_   
_Makin' a home down there as mine sure won't be shared_

Oliver began scanning the room when Jesse arrived. She walked over to both Oliver and Quinn with a smile on her face, she was trying not to draw attention to herself, Quinn noted. She silently took the spare earpiece out of her ear and handed it over to the female speedster, smiling at her. Jesse accepted it and placed it in her ear, activating the mic and speaking at a low level as more people began to watch Barry and Rachel sing. 

**Barry**   
_The scars of your love remind me of us_   
_They keep me thinkin' that we almost had it all_   
_The scars of your love, they leave me breathless_   
_I can't help feelin'..._

Quinn clapped along with some old couple as they sang their hearts out. It was actually quite entertaining to watch them do that but they were not as good as Rachel and Barry. 

**Rachel & Barry**   
_We could have had it all_   
_(You're gonna wish you never had met me)_   
_Rolling in the deep_   
_(Tears are gonna fall, rolling in the deep)_   
_You had my heart inside of your hands_   
_(You're gonna wish you never had met me)_   
_And you played it with a beatin'_

**Barry**   
_Throw your soul through every open door_

**Rachel**   
_Count your blessings to find what you look for_

**Barry**   
_Turn my sorrow into treasured gold_

**Rachel**   
_You'll pay me back in kind and reap just what you've sown_

**Rachel & Barry**   
_(You're gonna wish you never had met me)_   
_Yeah, we could have had it all_   
_(Tears are gonna fall, rolling in the deep)_   
_We could have had it all_   
_(You're gonna wish you never had met me)_   
_Yeah, it all, it all, it all_   
_(Tears are gonna fall, rolling in the deep)_

_We could have had it all_   
_(You're gonna wish you never had met me)_   
_Rolling in the deep_   
_(Tears are gonna fall, rolling in the deep)_   
_You had my heart inside of your hands_   
_(You're gonna wish you never had met me)_   
_And you played it to the beat_   
_(Tears are gonna fall, rolling in the deep)_   
_You could have had it all_   
_(You're gonna wish you never had met me)_   
_Rolling in the deep_   
_(Tears are gonna fall, rolling in the deep)_   
_You had my heart inside of your hands_   
_(You're gonna wish you never had met me)_

_And you played and you played and you played_   
_And you played it to the beat_

Everyone clapped, but they soon stopped when slow clapping descended from the stairs. Oliver and Barry’s attention snapped to the stairs, eyes falling into slits as they realised who was standing there.

“Good performance, Rachel,” The voice said, smirking.

“Jessie?” Rachel asked, exasperated.

* * *

**S.T.A.R Labs [Central City]**   
**The same time**

Caitlin and Cisco were manning the comms immediately. After hearing Rachel say Jessie’s name, they had both shot up from their seats and were looking at everyone in the room.

* * *

**Lakehouse [Ohio]**   
**The same time**

Alan entered the room seconds later, Stacey in tow as he heard that the main room had fallen silent. Stacey had her eyes wide open as she met Jessie’s eyes. There was a malicious hunger in them and it made her feel uneasy. 

“Stand down, St James,” Oliver began, reaching for the gun he had in his holster around his waist. Barry moved to stand next to him, slowly descending from the stool and maneuvering so he could grab the gun in his holster as well. Thank god he had paid attention to Oliver when he was explaining how to use the gun. Jessie just smirked at both Oliver and Barry, before making his eyes glow. He was going to use his heat vision.

Everything slowed down around both Barry and Jesse as they began zipping everyone out of the room and outside, at the front of the house. Oliver watched as the two speedsters collected the civilians, leaving him alone with the alien. Just great.

Seconds later, the room was empty, save for Oliver. Jesse and Barry came to a stop beside the archer, surprised at how he hadn’t even used his heat vision yet. 

“What do you want, Jessie?” Barry asked, his voice strong as he stared at the man who wanted him dead. 

“You know what I want, Barry,” Jessie said softly, moving to sit in a leather seat. The trio watched his movements closely, not liking how relaxed he was. He was usually a sporadic person, seeing him so contained scared them all.

“You want for me to suffer..” Barry commented, just as softly. Oliver tensed beside Barry. He would die trying just to make sure Barry never had to go through any more heartache. 

“Exactly,” Jessie added, smiling, “You made me look like a saint, I did something terrible to Rachel and I wanted to be known as a liar and someone you shouldn’t mess with.. Then you came along, and ruined that entire plan. Soon, everyone hated you, and I was forgotten about” 

“I didn’t enjoy being hated,” Barry whispered, “It was awful, having everyone believe you’re some jerk who only cares about winning,” 

Jessie scoffed and rolled his eyes, “You thrived in the hatred! That’s why you threw that slushie at Blaine!”

“Actually, that was a lapse in judgement,” Barry corrected, “I never meant for it to hurt anybody, I just wanted to stain Kurt’s clothes”

Jesse and Oliver just exchanged looks behind Barry’s back. What did he mean that he threw a slushie at someone? They both knew that his high school experience had been far more complex than any of theirs but that seemed a little extreme. 

“Regardless, you had managed to make people fear you, something that I had been trying to do for the longest time,” Jessie growled out, standing up from the chair. Barry just tensed as Jessie moved around the room freely. 

“Your son is alive, Barry,” Jessie reassured the Scarlet Speedster. He knew that’s why Barry was so tense and hadn’t dared to try to attack him.

Oliver sighed in relief as did Jesse, whilst Barry just stopped tensing, his whole body seeming to deflate at the words. His son was alive. He was okay.. 

Suddenly, Jessie flew at Barry, grabbing the speedster and flying out of the house, crashing through various walls as they were outside the building within seconds. Barry coughed as he stood up, swaying on his feet slightly from the impact his body made against the various walls. Jessie smirked before walking towards Barry, punching him rapidly. He made sure Barry had no time to recover, even if he was supposedly ‘The fastest man alive’. Oliver and Jesse arrived outside the house moments later, Oliver armed with his bow and arrow whilst Jesse was just staring at the scene in front of her. She watched it all unfold in slow-motion. 

Oliver attempted to aim an arrow at Jessie, growling softly as he kept shifting his position so he could hurt Barry. Jesse realised what Oliver was planning and ran forward towards the duo, grabbing Jessie and launching him off of Barry. Whilst he was busy recovering on the floor, Oliver managed to get a clear shot at Jessie and he took it, successfully injuring his left shoulder. Barry shakily stood up moments later, using his right hand to smear some of the blood on his face. Jesse looked at her mentor, nodding silently before they both began running in circles, building up power. 

Barry threw his lightning bolt first, temporarily stunning the alien before Jesse threw her’s, sending him flying towards the edge of the docks that were located at the back of the Lakehouse. Oliver then used one of his modified arrows and electrocuted Jessie, leaving him writhing on the wooden decking as he tried to move away from them. The trio closed in on the fallen man, making sure he didn’t have anywhere else to run. A thud made them all turn around, their eyes opening wide as they realised who it was.

“Kara?!” The trio asked incredulously, staring at the other alien with wide eyes. Why was she here? 

“Cisco came over and got me,” She told them all, crossing her arms over her emblem. None of them had realised that the injured man had gotten away.

Barry cursed softly as he turned his attention back onto the ground Jessie had been laying down on previously. Upon seeing it bare, he felt his chest tighten in both anger and fear. His kid’s life was on the line here, he had no room to make errors. Jessie had just escaped his clutches once again. It wasn’t fair.

“He couldn’t have gotten far,” Barry began, stammering as he began pointing rapidly at random locations in the horizon. 

“Barry.. He got away,” Oliver said softly, moving towards his friend slowly. He knew why he was like this but right now, he needed Barry to be level headed rather than hysterical. Once he could grab Barry, he did, pulling the younger man closer to him. Barry flinched in Oliver’s hold but he didn’t pull away, instead he focused his gaze out into the pitch black sky, this was not how it was supposed to go. 

A scream from back inside the house caused them all to run back inside, shock taking over as they stared at the arrangement. Jessie was holding a loaded pistol to this woman’s head. She seemed terrified. Jessie was smirking as she tried her hardest to escape his grip, but he only tightened it, pressing the gun harder against her head. Kara was frozen as she watched in horror at the scene in front of her. This was too familiar. The scenes had begun to merge together, she remembered the painful cries from Barry’s son as he felt the gun get pressed against his temple too hard.

“Now, you’re going to let me get away,” Jessie began, he could hear the sirens coming closer. Sure, he could just take them all out regardless, but he wanted them to let him go. He wanted them to make sure he got to install a fear into them all.

The gun got pressed further into the woman’s head and she yelled out in pain, trying to desperately get Jessie to stop.

“What’s it gonna be?” He taunted.

Barry and Oliver paled at the decision. There was no way they could let this man get away but then again, they couldn’t let this innocent woman take a bullet through the head from their inability to come to a conclusion.

The sirens got closer and Jessie tightened his grip even more, his nails digging into the skin of the woman’s right shoulder. Sighing, Barry stepped backwards, resigning into the deal. He couldn’t let someone else die because of him. Jessie turned to Oliver expectantly, smirking as the Emerald Archer stepped back, letting him go. In one swift motion, Jessie had thrown the lady free and had managed to pin Barry up against the wall, feeling the speedster tense under his hold.

“You can’t stop me, Barry,” Jessie began in a low voice, “The Enlightenment will come for you all”

Barry growled lowly at Jessie, his eyes turning golden as he felt the speed-force begin to take control. He felt his adrenaline pump, giving him this new energy. He felt it coursing through every nerve in his body, like a never-ending shock that kept him alive. This is what he loved about the speed-force. The way it took control and guided him through the worst of times, like it was his very own defence mechanism. 

Jessie admired the way the lightning travelled through Barry’s body, it was a pretty spectacular sight. Regardless, it didn’t distract him, he still held his tight grip on Barry whilst he heard Oliver aim his bow and arrow at him once more. Oliver would do anything to keep him alive. That would be fun to see how far he could press that bond in the future.

“See you around, Flash” Jessie whispered into Barry’s ear and he had flown off within seconds, leaving for the others to deal with the aftermath of it all. Barry had crumpled to the floor, his exhaustion catching up with him as he took a moment to take in what had just happened. The woman that Jessie had almost killed was in tears, she was getting comforted by Jesse as Oliver checked her over for injuries. Kara walked to Barry, no longer frozen. She held concern in her eyes as she stared at her friend on the floor, offering him one of her hands. She pulled him up and supported his weight as they hobbled over to Oliver and Jesse. Kara passed Barry off to Oliver whilst she and Jesse made work of cleaning up the room a bit more so they could sit the shaken lady down. 

“You okay?” Oliver whispered to Barry, moving them both towards these two steps. Oliver placed Barry on them, crouching down in front of him as he looked at the bruises and dried blood staining his face from his and Jessie’s confrontation.

Barry nodded in response to Oliver’s question, his gaze towards the dirty floor. He had failed. This was their last chance to get Jessie before he went incognito again. This was the last chance he had to save his son. The son he never got to meet.

The comms offered distraction from the sinking feeling in Barry’s chest. The yelling, the begging, that they were all okay was tearing his mind away from his son. Slowly, he raised his right arm and pressed his hand gently against it, activating his mic. He took a deep breath before slowly bringing it back to his side, wincing as he did and it did not go unnoticed by Oliver. The older man reached out and rubbed Barry’s arm softly, moving from where he was crouched down to sitting next to his friend, trying to help make the appendage stop aching.

This had been a long night, and as Oliver looked around the wreckage, he could tell it was only going to get longer.


	21. Chapter 21

**S.T.A.R Labs [Central City]**   
**2:43 pm**

It had been a month since the Smythe gala and nothing was the same, especially with Barry. They all knew why though, it must’ve been torture for him to not know where his son was or even if he was still alive. Barry had asked Cisco countless times to vibe him, but it never worked, even with the photograph of his son, Cisco never managed to get anything. 

Team Flash were having a meeting, discussing their next move against this meta, when the alarms started going off. Barry turned his attention towards Cisco, his stare demanding. Cisco knew what to do, he pulled up the security footage, making sure it was being displayed on the monitors in front of the room. Barry felt his blood boil at the sight. Why was he here? Better yet, why was he even alive?

Within seconds, Barry had sped out of the room, leaving the other members of Team Flash to stare at each other in fear as they watched the scene. They all knew Barry had a lot of pent up anger, but they just hoped that he wouldn’t let that cloud his judgement.

“Barry.. I-I need your help,” The man said, they could see that he was badly hurt as well, bleeding profusely from his right side. Barry sighed and looked as if he had deflated within seconds, like all of the fight he had in him had just gone.

“What do you need, Hunter?” He asked in a small voice.

* * *

**Foundry [Star City]**   
**3:12 pm**

Oliver sighed as he listened to Barry explain to him everything that was going on in Central City. After the gala, Oliver had made sure that Barry would tell him everything about what was happening in his city, whether it was just the usual meta or something much worse, it would help him stop worrying about his friend. Barry wasn’t sure as to why Oliver was so worried about him all the time, but he never bothered to question it, he didn’t see the point in doing so. Only Thea knew the true reason as to why he was hellbent on making sure Barry never had to go through anymore issues.

He was scared to lose Barry. After seeing the way Barry was after losing his father, the way he blamed himself, he hated seeing that look on Barry. It wasn’t right, seeing the usually optimistic man being brought down by so much anger, and pain, he never wanted to see Barry go to the dark side ever again. That was his thing, not Barry’s, and he never wanted it to be Barry’s. 

Felicity eyed Oliver as he began to pace around the main area, he seemed stressed. She knew that it was about the time that Barry usually gave Oliver a call, so she knew something must be wrong in Central City for Oliver to be upset. He never seemed to be upset anymore, which she loved. All she ever wanted was for Oliver to be happy. 

When Oliver hung up the phone, he placed it down on one of the many tables in the room and walked out, leaving Felicity to sit alone and think about Central City. She allowed for her thoughts to wonder for a while, allowing herself to forget her surroundings as a million awful situations floated around in her head, increasing her worry. She was brought out of her thoughts by a huge bang, making her jump. She looked around the room in shock, her eyes landing on Oliver, a bag in his hand, his bow and arrow set on his back. Was it really time for him to go on patrol already? It wasn’t even dark out yet, was it?

“I’m going to go to Central for a couple of days,” He explained to Felicity, grabbing his motorcycle keys and walking towards where his suit was on the mannequin. She looked at him in confusion as he pulled his suit down, folding it up and putting it in his bag, he somehow managed to stuff the bow and arrow set in afterwards, which amazed Felicity. 

“Is everything alright?” She asked, upon seeing Oliver’s puzzled look, she quickly reiterated her statement, “In Central City, I mean. Not with you because you’ve been really happy recently which is always a good thing but it’s still a bit weird and all bu--”

She was cut off by a laugh. An actual laugh from the Oliver Queen. He was laughing hysterically, and it was quite frankly terrifying her. Since when did Oliver Queen laugh? And what had caused him to be on the verge of tears from laughing so hard? She hadn’t said something funny, had she?

“What’s so funny?” She questioned him, standing up from her seat and walking towards him. Her arms were crossed over her chest as she waited impatiently for him to stop laughing. It took him 5 minutes, but when he did, he looked at her with nothing but love in his eyes, and that made her heart skip a beat. She absolutely loved it when he looked at her like that.

“Just how protective you are, that’s all,” He said, moving closer to her. Felicity didn’t back away, instead, she moved closer herself, her gaze struggling to focus on anything other than his lips. He seemed to see her gaze, and smirked. Felicity felt herself blush when he wrapped an arm around her, pulling her even closer. Soon, she found a pair of lips smashing against hers, and she couldn’t help but smile into the kiss, adding as much passion as Oliver had. 

They pulled away moments later, looking at each other. They were both smiling widely. 

“I’ll be back sooner than you think,” And just like that, Oliver was gone, leaving Felicity alone in the Foundry by herself. Thank god no-one had seen the kiss.

* * *

**S.T.A.R Labs [Central City]**   
**9:54 pm**

Caitlin, Cisco, Barry and Oliver were all in the pipeline, eyeing the cell that inhabited the infamous Hunter Clarington. After Barry offered to help Hunter, they allowed for Caitlin to check him out, only for him to heal and then be placed in the pipeline for caution. Oliver was busy glaring at the man whilst Barry just looked.. Empty? He looked like he was done with this entire thing, and it made Oliver’s heartache as he looked at his right to everyone else.

“Why are you here, Hunter?” Barry asked him softly, tears building in his tired eyes. Oliver placed a hand on his shoulder, squeezing in support as he felt Barry’s body shaking slightly. 

“I want to help you guys,” He said truthfully, looking at them all with nothing but remorse in his eyes. Oliver scoffed whilst Barry looked at him, he looked perplexed. Caitlin and Cisco looked at each other, unsure on whether or not they could trust him.

“In 48 hours, Jessie plans to let the Enlightenment unfold, and I want to help you all stop it,” He told them, his arms behind his back as he did so.

“And why would you want to help us?” Cisco asked, and it was a very valid question. Why would the man who used to work with the enemy want to help them stop the man he used to work for?

“Because.. I made a mistake, well I’ve made tons of mistakes but he was planning on killing me and Barry’s kid at the same time, so when Jessie attacked me, before that I was going to sneak off with your kid so he could live, but I got knocked out before I even picked him up,” Barry looked down at the ground at the mention of his kid, “All this time, I thought that bringing you all down, would give me some sort of peace for what happened between you and my dad, but I never wanted to become him. I never wanted that life”

Barry just nodded mutely, whilst Caitlin, Cisco and Oliver all looked skeptical. 

“We’ve been betrayed before,” Caitlin began, “How do we know you won’t betray us?”

Hunter sighed. He knew convincing them he was on the same side would be difficult, but he didn’t expect for it to be this hard. He looked at them all, his eyes lingering on Barry for a moment longer. 

“Because, I’m the reason why Barry’s child is still alive,” He began, moving closer towards the glass, “If it wasn’t for me, Jessie would’ve killed your kid a long time ago, Barry”

Barry sighed and looked up, his gaze meeting Hunter’s. As he looked at the man, he felt all the betrayal he felt when he first found out that Hunter was Eobard’s son. He felt so much hurt whilst looking at Hunter, but he could see the guilt in his eyes as they looked at him, they seemed desperate to make things right. Barry rubbed the tears out of his eyes and walked towards the control panel, hesitating before he pressed the unlock button. Hunter stepped out, not daring to go any further at the glances being thrown both his and Barry’s way. Oliver walked towards Barry, placing a hand on the top of his bicep, a concerned look on his face as he looked at Barry. The younger man simply shrugged Oliver off and walked away, leaving the quartet in an unusual silence. 

“Let's do this then,” Oliver barked out, letting Caitlin and Cisco walk in front of Hunter whilst he trailed behind the speedster, he didn’t trust this one bit.


	22. Chapter 22

**S.T.A.R Labs [Central City]**   
**47 hours and 52 minutes until Enlightenment**

“There’s gotta be something we can do to stop it from happening, right?” Barry asked as he stared at Hunter. 

After they had released him from the pipeline, he had been held under surveillance in the Cortex, no-one wanted to let him go. Oliver watched the scene, silently surveying the situation.

Hunter shook his head, “Jessie made sure that no-one would be able to stop it,”

Barry groaned and ran his hand through his already messy hair. This was not how this day was supposed to go at all. He was supposed to be at work, trying to distract himself at the nagging thought on his son’s condition. He wasn’t supposed to be letting out the guy who almost got him killed. His head was all over the place.

“Well, where is he next gonna attack? When is it? W-what does he plan to do?” Barry asked Hunter frantically, his whole body seemed like it was vibrating. It didn’t look good.

“Bear--” Joe began getting cut off by a distressed Scarlet Speedster.

“My son’s life is on the line, Joe!” He yelled at his foster father, “I can’t afford to make any more mistakes!” 

“I’m all that kid’s got now!” He yelled once more, storming out of the Cortex. Hunter looked down at the ground whilst Joe looked like he had been shot. He knew Barry was scared for his son, they all were, but he didn’t realise how much more this was affecting him. Iris looked at her father, prepared to go talk to Barry when Oliver beat her to it. Caitlin and Cisco looked at each other, they knew why Oliver was the better choice at talking some sense into Barry. He had been in the same position as him. He knew from his own personal experience the anger and the distress Barry was feeling. 

“Let me talk to him,” Oliver said softly, leaving the room.

Hunter, Caitlin, Cisco, Iris, Wally and Joe all remained in an awkward silence after Barry’s little outburst. 

“Why didn’t you guys tell him?” Hunter asked curiously, making Wally’s eyes perch up. Since when had he cared about the reasoning behind it all?

“In all honesty,” Joe began, sighing, “He-he had just lost his dad when I was going to tell him. He was under so much pressure already, I didn’t think he could handle being a dad after losing his own”

Iris nodded her head, tears in her eyes as she looked at her brother. She had never meant any harm, she just didn’t know how Barry could handle the stress. None of them had any bad intentions with it all, they just didn't want Barry to become a ticking time bomb, they didn’t want to see him explode from even more stress. 

Wally nodded but he still looked annoyed at the answer whilst Hunter just looked at them all, like he was questioning their true intentions. He had no right to judge them though, not after what he did to Barry.

* * *

**Time Vault [Central City]**   
**The same time**

Barry eyed the photo of his son from what Hunter gave him. He still couldn’t comprehend the idea of having a son, and now look at him, he was fighting for him like he had helped raise him.

“Barry, you okay?” Oliver asked, startling Barry. He didn’t realise someone had snuck in after him.

He just sighed and looked at the photo once more. All he could see was Patty, he could see Patty’s last moments before she put a bullet through her own brain for the safety of her--their--child. Oliver walked towards his friend, placing a hand on his shoulder.

“Gideon, turn it off,” Oliver commanded, trying to do his best ‘Barry’ impression considering Gideon only responded to his commands. He was surprised when the image vanished from the system.

“Barry, you gotta stop blaming yourself over this,” Oliver said to him, his voice gentle and caring. 

“How can you say that?,” Barry choked out, his eyes tearing up, “It is my fault.. If I had never become the Flash then my son wouldn’t have been put in harms way”

Oliver chuckled softly, pulling Barry in for a hug. He was shocked again when he didn’t feel Barry reciprocate the motion, instead he stayed huddled up with his friend. Oliver whispered kind things into Barry’s ear over and over again, until he felt long arms wrap around his waist. They stayed in the embrace for a while, letting Barry soak up some of Oliver’s strength.

When they pulled away, Oliver guided them both to the floor, leaning his back against the bubbly surface. Barry sat next to him, his knees drawn towards his chest but not the full way there. Barry watched as Oliver dug into his back pocket, pulling out his wallet. Oliver invited Barry closer, letting him rest his back against some of his chest, as he wrapped his left arm around the man’s shoulder, grabbing the other end of the wallet. He felt Barry lean his head against his jaw and he smiled, glad that Barry finally felt comfortable around him. He opened the wallet, letting Barry chuckle softly at some of the receipts and cards he had in there.

“You own a Big Belly Burger card?” Barry questioned softly, a smile on his face as Oliver just let him laugh at all the weird things in his wallet. Oliver used his thumb to lift up this flap, and there was this photo. It was of him and William, both of them playing with figurines that somewhat resembled Barry and Leonard Snart, they were making them fight each other.

“He’s a good kid, Ollie,” Barry said softly once again, “He’s lucky to have a dad like you protecting him from everything”

Oliver sighed and put his wallet back in his pocket, this time he grabbed his phone. Barry watched in silent curiosity as Oliver unlocked it and went onto his camera roll, searching for a video. What Barry saw made tears fall down his face. At the video Oliver had stopped at, it was of Patty and his son. They were in her apartment, and she was showing him photos above the fireplace. It took some zooming in, but Barry saw the photos on there. They were photos of him and Patty back when she lived in Central City. Back when everything was simple, well simpler. 

The video was silent for a couple of moments, well the only thing you could hear was Patty speaking to her son but then Barry heard the best thing ever. Patty had pointed to a photo of her and Barry and he said something. The video was suddenly reversed, not by Oliver, and then it was made louder. Barry’s heart clenched upon hearing it.

“ _Dada_ ” Oliver tightened his hold on Barry, feeling his body begin to shake from the sobs that wracked his body. Oliver had tears in his eyes himself as he listened to Barry’s son repeat the same word over and over again. He was going to thank Felicity for this. 

“Thank you, Oliver,” Barry whimpered out, turning around in the hold to place his head in the crook of Oliver’s neck. The older man happily let him, holding him tightly as he cried. He knew Barry needed to see that.

“Anytime, Barr” He replied, squeezing him. 

* * *

**Lima [Ohio]**   
**45 hours and 32 minutes until Enlightenment**

Stacey, Thad, Nick, Jeff and David were concluding their meeting for the day when Alan walked in; he seemed distressed. 

Stacey stood up and walked towards her father, her concern shining on her face. Thad motioned for him to sit in one of the many seats in the office, hoping that maybe with him sitting down he wouldn’t lose it completely. 

“Are you okay, Dad?” Stacey asked her father, sitting on one of the arm-rests beside him. She had her arm wrapped around his shoulders and she was leaning her head on top of his. 

“You know how I saw your mother the other day?” He asked his daughter, peeling away from Stacey so he could look at her. She nodded her head.

“Well, we may or may not have hooked up again,” Stacey’s eyes bulged out of her head at the news. Were her parents getting back together?, “Your-Your mother is pregnant.. Stace”

The room was dead silent at the news. Holy crap. Alan Smythe and Emma Smythe were having a child together. Holy crap. 

They all looked at each other, shocked with the news. 

* * *

**S.T.A.R Labs [Central City]**   
**The same time**

“Hunter, what is the enlightenment?” Barry asked Hunter, staring at his former best friend.

Team Flash were in the Cortex with Hunter, as he decided to finally share what the enlightenment was and what it was going to do to them all.

“The Enlightenment is going to restore everyone’s minds,” Hunter started grimly. Caitlin and Cisco looked at him with curiosity whilst Oliver, Joe and Iris looked at him with confusion. Only Barry seemed to understand what they meant by that.

“That’s why you gave me that photo of my son,” Barry spoke, “You said it was because I would never remember him again..”

Hunter looked down whilst the others all looked at each other. The plan they had formulated was confusing.

“Why do you want to wipe everyone’s minds?” Caitlin asked. 

“I didn’t want to, Jessie did” Hunter answered truthfully, “he wants the world to forget that Sebastian Smythe even existed so he could become the most feared guy in America”

Barry scoffed. So this whole plan was based on a high school grudge. How pathetic.

“I cannot believe that he went through so much trouble just for people to believe he’s worse than me,” Barry muttered to himself, “What was the point?”

“And I thought I was a pathetic person,” Oliver grumbled, “What did you ever do to Jessie? Besides clearly pissing him off for being an even more arrogant jerk then he was during High School?”

Barry just shrugged his shoulders and chuckled softly to himself. There was no way that this was Jessie’s plan.. unless. . 

“This cannot be Jessie’s plan,” Barry said in disbelief, “He was much more smarter in High School”

“Unless it’s not his plan,” Harry caught on, “What if it’s someone else's plan and he’s doing what they’re saying?”

Hunter looked startled himself at what they were saying. If this was true, then it would explain why this whole thing seemed a bit extreme for just a grudge.It all started to piece itself together in Hunter’s brain, and soon, he understood why Jessie worked the way he did. Whoever was controlling him, seemed to be blackmailing him to do it all. Barry was right, Jessie was a lot smarter than this. If he wanted to make himself known, he would just sing and dance and be a complete control freak.

“Looks like we gotta figure out who he’s working for, and fast” Oliver concluded, nodding at them all. They all looked at each other, the atmosphere tense. Game on.

* * *

**Unknown Location**   
**The same time**

A man watched the screen, confidently smiling as he saw all of Team Flash in the Cortex. This was going exactly as he predicted. 

“Excuse me, sir?” A woman questioned. The man turned around, smiling as he made eye contact with his wife. She flirtatiously smiled back, a warm feeling spreading across her chest.

“In just 45 hours, the Enlightenment will be in full gear,” He spoke slowly, his voice soft, “ Is everything at the safehouse prepared for our arrival?”

His wife nodded and gave him a kiss. He smiled in the kiss. Soon, the world would be his oyster. He could not wait to screw it up.

“Now, now, Marlieze,” He began again, linking arms with her, “It’s time we go deal with the last part of the plan”

“Very well, Clifford” She replied.

The couple walked out of the building with a bounce in their step. This was it. They were about to create a new era.

This better work out.


	23. Chapter 23

**S.T.A.R Labs [Central City]**   
**22 hours and 59 minutes until the Enlightenment**

Barry could feel the sweat pouring down his face as he stood unstably in the Cortex. This was not how today was supposed to go. His eyes were burning as he felt his heart pumping as fast as it could. It was struggling to keep up with his speed, he realised after a minute. He took a couple deep breaths as he walked further into the Cortex, spotting Iris frozen still next to the console in the center of the room. Hesitantly, he slowly reached his arms up, placing his hands on her shoulders, gripping her as if she was preventing him from sliding down to the floor and most likely melting away--it did feel like that was what he was going to do.

“Oh, Barry. What--” She asked once she began moving. She looked around the room frantically, but her eyes landed on her boyfriend, her struggling boyfriend.

“Iris.” He said, taking another deep breath.

“I’m--” She started, being cut off by Barry once more.

“You’re moving with me okay,” He reassured, but Iris heard it more like he was gasping for air instead.

“What--” She began once more, only to be cut off yet again by Barry.

“You’re moving as fast as I am,” He explained, “Like in the courtroom”

“Why didn’t you?” Iris began, slowly rocking her and Barry unconsciously. They slowly moved their gazes to the monitors, and on the screens was what terrified her to her core. In the middle of this container, was this purple light, this purple light that hadn’t been there before. 

“I can’t. I can’t,” He gasped out, his chest heaving for breath.

Iris stroked his hair with her left arm, trying to gain his attention. Her actions were futile though, as his attention seemed hard to gain. 

“What’s wrong? What?” She asked her boyfriend, trying to get him to just calm down and relax, but it seemed like he couldn’t.

Tears were mixing with the sweat that was already falling down his face as he looked at her, nothing but guilt and regret in his eyes. Iris looked at him in confusion as he struggled to get a single decent breath in. She knew something was wrong with him, and she hoped it wasn’t painful.

“I can’t save us this time,”

* * *

**S.T.A.R Labs [Central City]**   
**8 minutes and 49 seconds earlier**

Barry loved running. He always had, contrary to popular belief. That’s why he was so motivated to want to learn how to become faster to enter breaches quicker. After they discussed a probable behavioural pattern with Jessie and his supposed employer, they set to work trying to figure out exactly who it was and why they wanted the world to become nothing but mindless zombies.

Iris and Cisco were also in the speedlab with Barry; Iris so she could see if her boyfriend needed anything; Cisco because, well he needed his best friend’s abilities to help him. Iris looked around the room, seeing multiple glass boards, full completely with equations. Iris knew the real reason why he wanted to get faster though. Jessie still had his son, regardless of whoever instructed him to do it. 

“Ready when you are, Barry,” Iris said into the comm system, taking her gaze away from the glass boards and onto the scene playing out in front of her.

Cisco groaned from where he was standing. He looked worn out. Understandably so, it did take a lot out of him doing this as well.

“I’m ready” They both heard Barry respond. Cisco groaned. 

“Are you serious?” He asked Iris in disbelief. How was she going to let this happen, she was the team leader after all.

Iris sighed, “come on, Cisco, just one more” She moved from the consoles in the room and began approaching the man standing in the center of the room.

“She said two hours ago,” Cisco spat out. Iris looked at him with a tired look on her face herself. 

“Look, you know he’s not gonna stop until he makes it through,” Iris commented, walking to stand next to Cisco, “Come on, you know how Barry gets”

Cisco did indeed know how Barry gets, they had been best friends for 4 years. He walked past Iris, walking towards the opening in the track entrance. 

“One more,” He commented, making Iris smile in success. 

“Thank you,” she said, turning around as he walked past her. She watched from behind Cisco as the lightning gave the room a yellow-ish tinge that made it feel really homely. He always knew how to make anywhere he went home. Maybe that’s why he settled into the West household so quickly.

“All right, here we go,” Iris called, letting Barry know they were getting into positions. She watched as Cisco got ready, preparing for a breach. The breach appeared seconds later. Cisco kept it open as Iris counted down to herself, her eyes wide open as she prayed that they would be able to get this.

“Three..”  
“Two..”  
“One..”  
“Now!”

Cisco stopped opening the breach when she said now, letting the energy begin to fade away. It slowly began to disappear, and Iris lost some hope along with it. There was no way Barry would be able to make it in time. Barry came to a stop in front of where the breach used to be as soon as it disappeared, and they both could tell how angry he was with the result.

“Damnit, “ He commented angrily, “One more”

“Iris.” Cisco said sternly, hoping that Iris would be able to get him to slow down for a moment and relax. Iris could tell she needed to diffuse the situation, so she crossed her arms and looked at her boyfriend, concern mounted on her face as she spoke.

“Uh, Barry, look,” She began, “why don’t we take 5?”

“No,” Barry said in disbelief, “Not until I get this, alright?”

Barry turned around and began walking towards the ramp at the start of the track. He was going to get this, even if it killed him in the process.

“Listen, Miyagi,” Cisco started, stepping back after he saw how annoyed Barry looked as he turned around to look at them both.

“What?” Barry asked annoyed, he let his arms hit his sides as he stared at them both.

“I’ve been here all day opening breaches,” Cisco started once more, conviction in his eyes, “So unless you wanna rub your hands together and do some magic shoulder pop--”

“I’m not rubbing your shoulder, Barry commented softly, looking directly at Cisco.

“That’s what I thought,” Cisco exclaimed, beginning to walk out of the room, “I’m taking 5”

“Hey, come on,” Barry tried, sounding desperate. 

“I’m taking 5!” Cisco insisted, continuing to walk away from his best friend. He’d let Iris deal with him.

Barry sighed and put his hands on his head, looking distressed as he mindlessly walked around the room slowly. Iris could see how much he wanted this, how much he needed it. If only he knew when he needed to take a break.

“I don’t understand why I can’t get this,” Barry voiced, walking towards the treadmill.

“Well, probably because you’ve been up all night,” Iris said, clapping her hands together in front of her as she moved to face her boyfriend.

“But, that shouldn’t matter,” Barry sounded exasperated as he spoke, taking deep breaths.

He ended up standing in front of one of the many boards he had filled up. Iris was shocked at how much he had actually written. Sure, he could’ve used his superspeed but it still would’ve taken him hours to remember it all.

“Look, Barry,” Iris said, standing next to him, “A breach closes in three picoseconds. What if Jessie uses his speed a lot faster than that?”

“Look, I’m just saying that this might not even be the best way to catch him,” Barry threw his arms in the air, exasperated as he took a step back.

“It’s a plan, you know,” He reasoned with her, talking in a small, resigned voice, “It’s the only one we have right now”

“And what if he uses his forcefield against you?” Iris questioned him. After Hunter had explained to them what the enlightenment was, they asked if he had any abilities he was keeping a secret. He told them everything, “You don’t know how to get out of it yet”

“I don’t know, Iris, I mean, we need something,” He replied, keeping his gaze to the floor, “We have no extra leads on where he would be”

Iris sat next to Barry on the stairs next to the console area, eyeing her boyfriend in concern. It had been awhile since she last saw him this worked up, and she didn’t like it. She preferred the happy Barry Allen, the man who came out of the speed-force without the heavy burdens of his parents’ deaths. 

“No way to track Jessie and his boss,” He continued, “No way to stop him. I mean he can’t be this smart”

“I’m sorry,” He said, pinching the bridge of his nose with his thumb and index finger, “We’ve been at this for months and we have nothing”

“I mean, maybe that’s the problem,” Iris said, she looked at Barry as he ran his hands through his already messy hair, “You know, sometimes you have to take a breather and let the answer come to you. Do something else for a bit”

“Like what?” He asked her immediately, drawing his gaze away from the floor to look at his girlfriend. 

Iris stayed quiet for a moment, taken by surprise by how fast he asked her. She knew he was the fastest man alive but she didn’t expect him to be that fast at asking and answering questions.

“Like date night, for starters,” Iris said, thinking. Barry nodded as he looked at her, taking his gaze back down to the floor after a moment. Iris remained silent as she watched his every move. 

“You know, we haven’t had quality time,” Iris wrapped her arm around Barry’s shoulders as she spoke to him, “just you and me, since you got back from the Lakehouse”

“Which was severely cut short,” Barry reminded her, speaking quietly to her.

“I know we’re also The Flash but..” Iris began, looking at the ceiling and then looking back at Barry. She smiled as he cut her off.

“We’re also Barry and Iris.” He looked up at her once he had finished, smiling softly at her. He could still remember how badly it had hurt to hear that she had known about his son before he did, but he was slowly getting there. He was going to be in a position for where he could forgive them all soon.

“No, you’re right,” Barry said, staring forward, “All right, I’m gonna make a reservation, tonight. Some place very romantic”

“Mmm” Iris raised an eyebrow as she looked at Barry. Where was he planning this date?, “Sounds perfect”

Barry smiled as he leaned his head against Iris’ neck, feeling her wrap an arm around him securely. Iris’ smile was a mile wide as she held her boyfriend, glad that the tension between them was finally disappearing. 

“How is it we live together, work together,” Barry began, “sleep in the same bed together, but it still feels like we don’t spend any real time as boyfriend and girlfriend?” 

Iris chuckled softly at that. It was true. 

“ _Allen, West. Cortex. Now_ ” Harry bellowed through the comm system. It was times like these that Barry wished Harry had gone with Jesse back to Earth-2. 

“I have no idea,” Iris told him, releasing her hold on him and standing up, offering her hands to him. He gratefully took them and pulled himself up, keeping their fingers laced together as they walked through the halls to the cortex.

* * *

**Cortex [Central City]**   
**2 minutes later**

“What is this?” Iris asked as her and Barry entered the Cortex. They looked around the room and noticed that all of Team Flash, and Hunter, were all there. Even Oliver was there, which surprised both Iris and Barry. He had gone back to Star City a few hours after Hunter had explained the plan of the enlightenment to them.

“This is a signature field mapping every time Jessie has used any of his powers or force fields to get whatever he wants,” Harry explained to the couple, putting the imaging on to the monitors in the front of the room.

“All of these?” Barry asked in shock. He saw how many little red dots there were on the map of Central City. There seemed to be hundreds.

“All of them,” Caitlin confirmed grimly.

“So, how did you do this?” Iris asked them. 

“I didn’t do it,” Harry explained, “Ramon did”

“But, all I did was just come up with a really complex and eloquent algorithm,” Cisco boasted modestly, making Barry roll his eyes, “to track the different vibration frequency he gives out because he’s from a different Earth” 

“Don’t do that, alright?” Harry turned to Cisco, slight anger in his voice as he addressed his concerns, “Don’t do that”

Cisco looked at him in confusion, “Don’t be modest, all right? It’s unbecoming”

“You’re unbecoming,” Cisco retorted, holding the ice pack on his shoulder tightly as he stared at the Earth-2 version of Harrison Wells. 

“You wish I was unbecoming,” Harry responded, looking at Cisco.

“Are you sure that these are Jessie’s and not his employer?” Barry asked, breaking up the argument. 

“These are Jessie. All right?” Harry snapped at Barry. Hunter eyed the images, confused.

“These aren’t Jessie’s,” Hunter began, making the room fall dead silent, “With Jessie, not only would you be able to track his location because of the different vibrational frequency he gives off, but because those are pocket dimension readings--not superpower readings” 

Oliver stared at Hunter in shock, “And you know this how?”

“Before Jessie got employed, it was me and a couple other guys, one of them being the guard that was watching over Barry back at the warehouse,” Hunter explained, “We had been tasked by this guy, who wanted us to track down Jessie and convince him to go to this location where we were told the mastermind behind this whole plan was going to meet him there. We had to track Jessie from his different vibrating frequency rather than his powers. As we found his location, a breach--better known as a pocket dimension--opened up, and took him. We were told that the guy who took him was the mastermind behind it all, the thinker, and that the readings we were getting were from him. Those are the same readings we got from the pocket dimension that opened up that day and took Jessie.”

Barry nodded at Hunter, turning his attention back onto Cisco and Harry. Harry seemed amused whilst Cisco seemed annoyed.

“Has ‘The Thinker’ named himself yet?” Cisco asked Hunter through gritted teeth, making them all chuckle softly. Hunter nodded his head, smirking as he watched as Cisco chucked the ice pack onto the floor in anger. 

“How long has this been going on?” Barry asked, his voice cold.

“Wait for it,” Harry said, throwing his head back slightly. He turned to Cisco.

“The past three years,” 

“3 years?” Oliver asked in shock. His eyes were wide open as he looked at Team Flash. How has he managed to keep silent for those 3 years?

“Jessie and whoever his employer is have orchestrated everything that’s been going on in Central City for the past 3 years undetected,” Caitlin explained, “and these all link up to the night your dad died, Barry” 

“We’ve got a planner,” Cisco said sarcastically, “Just like Thawne”

Harry nodded and said quietly, “Just like Thawne”

“So how do we use this?” Iris asked, changing the subject. She knew how quickly Barry’s anger could grow, especially with Thawne, so she wanted to diffuse the situation before it escalated further.

“All we can do right now is just wait for the next marker to appear,” Cisco told them both, smiling sadly at the pair. He looked at Barry for a moment, he could see the darkness that had started to grow in his eyes very slowly, “Try to get the jump on him”

“That, and keep an eye on Mr. Clarington over here, we can’t get betrayed once more but at the same time, we don’t want him to wind up dead” 

“Which, I know that none of you trust me, especially you, Barry, but I’m not going to doublecross you guys and thank you for the protection, even if you don’t want to do it,” Hunter said, “I am scared that Jessie will find me and kill me, because I’m with you guys but I promise I will not leave you guys,”

“Why are you scared though?” Cisco asked him, “You’re a speedster!”

“Yeah, and Jessie’s an alien. How am I supposed to beat the crap out of an alien if I can’t even get a hit on him when he flies away?” Oliver shrugged his shoulders at Hunter’s response. The kid had a point.

“People with powers should be ready for anything,” Cisco said to himself, backing away from the console and walking backwards to the main doorway of the Cortex.

Cisco turned around and yelled, surprised to see a person there, “Son of a breach!”

Everyone looked over at him, surprised at who was there. 

“Jesse?” Cisco asked after he fixed his composure.

“Just came in through the breach room,” She told them. They all saw that she was holding a cube, and it confused them. That looked like the same cube she sent to Wally to break up with him.

“Hey, Jesse,” Caitlin began, very confused, “Welcome back. What are you doing here?”

Caitlin, Iris, Oliver, Hunter and Barry all looked at Wells expectantly, whilst Cisco continued to keep looking at Jesse. After a second he turned around though, also looking at Harry expectantly. Jesse and Harry made eye contact for a moment before Barry spoke up, leaning his head out from behind Cisco so he could see Jesse better.

“Wally’s not here,” Jesse rolled her eyes and dragged her father into a separate room, leaving Team Flash, Oliver and Hunter to themselves.

* * *

**Airport [Central City]**   
**The same time**

Blaine smiled as he walked through the Central City airport to grab his luggage. His manager had made him fly out to the city so he could try and perform at the Central City show but he never managed to get booked so instead, his manager allowed him to use the time as a little vacation before he next had a job. It had been awhile since he last saw Barry, so he was hoping to see the Scarlet Speedster and check in with him.

As he arrived at the baggage claim, his phone started vibrating. Smiling, he reached into his pocket and grabbed his phone, glad to see that it was Kurt who was texting him. 

**Kurt** _my plane leaves in an hour. I’ll be there soon :)_

Blaine quickly typed his response.

**Blaine** _Okay have a safe flight. I love you_

He quickly stashed his phone away and grabbed his suitcase, lugging it towards the outside world.

* * *

**Warehouse [Central City]**   
**30 seconds later**

Joe was currently crouching behind a police cruiser as bullets whizzed all around him. He and other officers were stuck in a gun fight after an ARGUS drop had been raided. The glass on the top of his cruiser shattered within seconds, making glass fall down on top of him, slicing his skin in multiple places. His other officers’ weren’t looking too good, Joe noted as another one got shot down by the masked assailants.

Joe stood up from his spot, seeing one of his men stuck in the firing line. He ran towards the cop, yelling, “Get down!”

He and the officer made it to the cruiser that was closer to them both. Whilst the other officer remained behind the car, Joe was still on show, firing bullets at the men. Joe watched as another one of his men took a bullet to the arm. Although his mind was at odds, he ran towards the officer, sitting beside him against the car as the officer sat up and held the bullet wound on his arm. Joe pulled out a tissue from his pocket, handing it over to the officer.

“You all right, Jonesy?” Joe asked the officer, seeing his face going pale.

“I’ll live,” He replied tightly, clenching his eyes shut as he fought off a tense wave of pain.

“Help’s on the way,” He told the younger man, sitting on his knees as he attempted to look through the windows of the car for where the armed men might be.

“Who the hell are these guys?,” Jonesy asked Joe, grabbing the tissue and applying as much force as he could to his arm, feeling the blood seeping down his arm and spreading through all of his clothes, “They came out of nowhere”

“I don’t know,” Joe replied honestly, “But they want whatever is in that container”

* * *

**S.T.A.R Labs [Central City]**   
**The same time**

Cisco had managed to hack into the security feed once they had gotten the distress signal from Joe’s cellphone. He was currently playing it on the monitors whilst Barry, Jesse and Oliver were preparing themselves for a fight.

“Where is that?” Iris demanded as she paced around the Cortex.

“One of the hangers out at Wade airfield,” Cisco said, starting to rush around to grab his Vibe gear. 

“My dad said C.C.P.D was escorting ARGUS there for something this morning,” Iris explained, looking at the monitor once she finally stopped pacing. Barry looked over her shoulder once he stopped rushing around, placing a hand on her back to try and soothe her anxiety about the situation.

“He’s there, Barry,” She told her boyfriend, tears trying so hard not to build in her eyes as she didn’t dare look back at Barry.

“Yeah,” Barry said nodding, “We gotta go,”

And just like that, he had flashed away, his red suit vanishing from the mannequin it usually rested on. Hunter stayed in the room awkwardly, not exactly sure what or where he should be/doing. He wasn’t a superhero like they all were, he was more of a villain; the same villain who had been the one to kidnap Patty all those months ago.

“We’ll meet you there,” Caitlin said, nodding to both Jesse and Hunter, although he still remained confused. They trusted him enough to go out into the field?

“Cool,” Jesse replied, making her way out of the room, following after Caitlin and Cisco.

That only left Hunter and Iris alone in the room, the only noise being the security footage of the gun fight happening at that very moment.

Iris ignored Hunter as she watched the gun fight continue, the windows of the car her dad was hiding behind being blasted to pieces as it shattered from the bullets flying through it.

* * *

**Back at the Warehouse**

“Come on, Flash,” Joe whispered, looking at the broken window. His hope was slowly dying out with each passing moment as the Scarlet Speedster had still not shown up yet.

Two of the armed assailants dropped their weapons, falling back towards the containment trailer. One of them pressed their watch against the keypad of the trailer, waiting until red lights appeared before they took it off, stepping away from the doors as they swung open moments later.

Once inside, they removed their mask, revealing their long hair. She continued to walk until she was just centimeters away from whatever was in the trailer. She placed this device against the control pad, letting it work its magic as it tried to gain control of whatever was in the trailer.

“Come on,” She groaned to herself as the device began to try once more, successfully unlocking the machine. She watched in amazement as the crate opened, revealing a very powerful energy source. 

“It’s ready,” She said softly. She felt her chest tighten with disgust as she heard the familiar whooshing around. 

She walked out of the trailer, noticing that all of her men had been taken down, Team Flash all standing beside them.

“Stand down!,” An officer yelled at her, “Hands, head!”

She briskly continued to walk, ignoring all of the yells around her.

Flash sped around until he was behind her, putting more distance between herself and the device inside the trailer.

“Just you and us now,” He told her, his face expressionless as he stared at the back of her head, “It’s over”

She turned around to face the Scarlet Speedster, her face scrunched up as she stared at the ‘hero’.

“For all of Central City,” She said to him, hearing the countdown begin to go off. She pulled up the device she had planted on the device inside the container earlier and that’s when Flash moved towards her.

Everything slowed down for Flash as he tried to grab the device, but his blood ran cold at what was being displayed on the device.

_‘Nuclear detonation; activated’_

Flash looked around as everyone remained perfectly still for him, none of them moving an inch. He turned to look at the trailer, his mind in disbelief over what had just happened. He walked towards the trailer, ripping his cowl off of his face as he began to walk ever closer to the nuke. He could feel the heat radiating off of it. His heart was in his throat as he looked at the design of it. 

“Barry?” Jesse gasped from behind him. He turned around, coming face-to-face with the other speedster. He shook his head at her, his eyes telling her the entire story. 

“We’re too late”

Jesse and Barry were standing next to each other, looking directly into the heart of the nuke. There was no way of turning it off, no way of overriding it. 

“That’s a nuclear bomb,” Jesse said, more to herself than to Barry but that still didn’t stop him from replying to her.

“Yeah, I know,”

“And its core’s already gone critical,” she said once more, staring at the frozen electrical bolts. 

“I know,” Barry gasped out once more, his throat losing its moisture from the heat radiating off of the bomb. Why did this have to happen?

“What are we going to do?” 

* * *

**S.T.A.R Labs [Central City]**   
**A minute later**

Barry and Jesse flashed into the Cortex, the whole room still and silent. Barry’s gaze trailed over to Iris for a moment, making his heart stop before he saw Hunter, staring at both him and Jesse in confusion. The duo walked towards the other speedster, sweat pouring down all of their faces as they did so. 

“What happened?” Hunter questioned the duo, concern leaking through his stoic expression he had plastered onto his face.

“It was a nuke,” Barry gasped out, his gloved hand reaching up to the zipper on his suit, undoing it a little bit, “They were after a nuke”

“ _Crap_ ” Hunter commented, his eyes widening. He turned his attention away from the other speedsters and onto the security footage, dread building up in his chest as he looked at it all unfolding in slow-motion. This was not looking good. 

And if that wasn’t enough to send a shiver through his body, the words that Jesse uttered next definitely made that happen.

“The core’s already gone critical”

“We need to cool it down,” Hunter immediately said, making the others look at each other. It was a good shout. Something clicked in Barry’s brain and soon he was smirking, as was Jesse, it kinda creeped Hunter out.

“Luckily we’ve got the ice queen on our side” Barry commented, making Hunter’s eyes widen.

“You know Elsa from Frozen?” He questioned his friend, making Jesse roll her eyes and snort at his stupidity. Hunter stared at them both incredulously as they sped out of the room, suddenly coming to a stop on the security feed once more.

“Yeah, let me find my own way there” Hunter growled to himself, speeding out of the Cortex and around Central City.

* * *

**Back at the Warehouse**

Barry approached Frost’s still body, looking at Jesse for confirmation. Once she had nodded her head, he grabbed his friend’s shoulders, bringing her to their speed. She looked around confused for a moment, before her eyes settled onto Barry’s swaying form and she was suddenly ready to do whatever she needed to.

Jesse and Barry silently held onto Frost as they walked towards the container, their breathing increasing as they were hit with a blast of pure heat and energy. Frost grunted softly from the heat but powered through it, keeping the speedsters upright. She looked back and forth between the speedsters when they stopped just near the bomb, letting her take a look at it herself. 

“We need you to cool it down,” Barry told his friend as they all heard the sound of whooshing behind them. They all looked and were shocked to see Hunter there, his body not as affected as theirs were. Jesse walked towards him, standing with him as they let Barry and Frost handle this.

They didn’t hear Frost’s comment, but all hope died when ice never came out of her hands. She tried once more, desperately wanting to fix the issue. It was when she started to dangerously sway on her feet that Barry realised the situation. Her body wasn’t used to moving at these extreme speeds like his, Jesse’s and Hunter’s were. Her body didn’t know how to function properly at hyperspeed, nor did her powers. Hunter watched in discouragement as Barry walked Frost out of the container and back next to Cisco, holding her steady for a few seconds before letting her go, her body going still once more.  
“That was our only plan” Jesse said grimly, making an idea pop into Barry’s head once he was situated in front of the duo. Hunter just remained silent as he admired Barry’s little thinking face, he made that exact same face back in Dalton. Maybe there was more Barry Allen in Sebastian Smythe then what anyone realised. 

“What if we negate it?” Barry asked the duo, making Hunter’s eyes widen. Okay, it was official. Barry had lost his goddamn mind.

“How are we supposed to do that?” Jesse asked Barry, both of them forgetting Hunter’s existence entirely as they mumbled to each other a bunch of science terms and what not.

“Let’s just throw lightning at it?” Hunter asked Barry, making him have a sort of lightbulb moment. That might just work. Both Barry and Jesse nodded rapidly at Hunter’s solution and they all walked towards this invisible start, getting ready in their running positions. They took off seconds later, Barry speeding ahead of the other two, both of them being barely able to keep up with Barry’s new profound speed. They ran around the container a couple times before Barry slid to a stop and launched a lightning bolt at it, Hunter following shortly afterwards and then Jesse slid to the floor, her whole body crumpling as she struggled to gain enough energy to pick herself back up and do it again. Barry ran to her side, holding her upright as she shakily stood up, her whole body trembling in his grip.

“I-I think..” Jesse gasped, “I-I think it’s time”

Barry and Hunter both nodded their heads at the younger speedster, the pair moving her so she was laying down next to Frost and Cisco. They said their goodbyes before parting with her, watching in numbness as her body stilled and matched those around her. 

“Looks like it’s just the two of us” Hunter told Barry, walking around the site, his eyes landing on Joe’s frozen figure, making Barry approach him and stare at his foster father in shock. He placed a hand on Barry’s shoulder, gently guiding him away from Joe and back to the main issue at hand; the already gone nuclear reaction. 

“W-what if we get Cisco to breach it to a dead earth?” Barry asked Hunter desperately, tears building in his eyes as he stared at his former best friend. Hunter had guilt written all over his face as he stared at the taller boy, wanting to just pull him in for a hug and apologise profusely for everything that had happened.

“Barry, you and I both know that there’s a very high chance the explosion will detonate quicker if it’s introduced to those X-elements,” Hunter told the speedster gravely, placing both of his hands into Barry’s arms, trying to calm him down, “Everyone else would survive but we wouldn’t”

Barry nodded softly, tensing when he felt Hunter’s body begin to sway. This was not happening right now. Nope. He needed Hunter more than ever right now, he couldn’t lose him. Not like this.

“We haven’t got a lot of time left,” He reasoned with Barry, slowly taking his hands away from the younger man, “So, i just want to apologise, for every single thing I’ve ever done”

“I’m so sorry this is all happening to you, I can’t believe I wanted to be a part of it. I hope that one day, not now but somewhere in the near future.. You’d-you’d be able to--”

Hunter stilled in front of him and Barry let a few tears out, hugging the man. He knew what Hunter was going to say, and he already knew his answer to the question.

He wiped his tears away and looked around the whole room, feeling crushing weights on his chest. He couldn’t do this. Everyone was going to die and it was going to be his fault. He couldn’t have that burden on his shoulders. Barry needed something to calm him down.. More like someone.

Barry ran.

* * *

**S.T.A.R Labs [Central City]**

Barry’s speed stopped when he reached one of the many corridors in S.T.A.R Labs, his whole body tense as he felt his stomach churn. He collapsed onto the wall, breathing rapidly as he felt his head go all fuzzy. No..No.. this was not happening to him now. It took him a moment, but sure enough, he had managed to get on to his legs and stumble his way into the Cortex, his eyes landing on the one person who could talk him down; Iris.

Barry could feel the sweat pouring down his face as he stood unstably in the Cortex. This was not how today was supposed to go. His eyes were burning as he felt his heart pumping as fast as it could. It was struggling to keep up with his speed, he realised after a minute. He took a couple deep breaths as he walked further into the Cortex, spotting Iris frozen still next to the console in the center of the room. Hesitantly, he slowly reached his arms up, placing his hands on her shoulders, gripping her as if she was preventing him from sliding down to the floor and most likely melting away--it did feel like that was what he was going to do.

“Oh, Barry. What--” She asked once she began moving. She looked around the room frantically, but her eyes landed on her boyfriend, her struggling boyfriend.

“Iris.” He said, taking another deep breath.

“I’m--” She started, being cut off by Barry once more.

“You’re moving with me okay,” He reassured, but Iris heard it more like he was gasping for air instead.

“What--” She began once more, only to be cut off yet again by Barry.

“You’re moving as fast as I am,” He explained, “Like in the courtroom”

“Why didn’t you?” Iris began, slowly rocking her and Barry unconsciously. They slowly moved their gazes to the monitors, and on the screens was what terrified her to her core. In the middle of this container, was this purple light, this purple light that hadn’t been there before. 

“I can’t. I can’t,” He gasped out, his chest heaving for breath.

Iris stroked his hair with her left arm, trying to gain his attention. Her actions were futile though, as his attention seemed hard to gain. 

“What’s wrong? What?” She asked her boyfriend, trying to get him to just calm down and relax, but it seemed like he couldn’t.

Tears were mixing with the sweat that was already falling down his face as he looked at her, nothing but guilt and regret in his eyes. Iris looked at him in confusion as he struggled to get a single decent breath in. She knew something was wrong with him, and she hoped it wasn’t painful.

“I can’t save us this time,”

Iris stared at him, hoping, praying, that it was all one big joke and that he could save the entire city. But as she watched him closely, seeing the way he could barely get any oxygen into his system and how he seemed to be very unstable, she knew that he was telling the truth, and that he was not making a joke out of a very intense situation.

“It’s a nuke,” He began, half-crying, half-laughing it sounded like,”and it’s already gone off”

She felt her heart plummet at the words. The whole city was going to be wiped out of existence, and none of them could do a damn thing about it.

“I’m so tired” Barry cried out, placing his overheating head against Iris’ shoulder, making her gasp at the heat radiating off of her boyfriend. She stroked the back of his neck, trying to soothe some of the pain and guilt that was currently eating him alive. If she listened close enough, she could even hear him mumbling ‘I’m sorry’ over and over again, shattering her heart. 

“You’re burning up” She stated, feeling his skin turn even hotter than before. She felt him nod against her but he didn’t move his head back up, instead he let it rest on her shoulder, soaking up some energy from her. 

“I’ve been at this for awhile,” He cried out, “Well for me”

Iris chuckled humorlessly as she held her boyfriend, her own tears spilling down her face. Barry slowly lifted his head from Iris’ shoulder, placing it directly against her forehead instead. That was when Iris realised she was the only thing holding him up. His eyes were heavily dilated and severely out of focus, making him sway against her as his body struggled to find balance in-between the spinning room. He had never looked so disoriented in his life. 

“I love you” He whimpered out, his grip slackening slightly. Iris tightened her grip on him squeezing extra hard just so she could see his blurry eyes struggle to focus on her. When they did focus on her, she smiled and he reciprocated the notion, the pair swaying together now. 

“Every moment with you, Barry, has always been nice” Iris cried out to Barry, tears leaking out of her eyes and sliding down her face. 

“We-we tried to cool it down,” Barry whispered to her, sounding desperate, “We-we tried to use lightning”

An idea sparked in her head and she found herself very intrigued by Barry’s incoherent mumblings. She smiled at him softly again as he attempted to focus all of his attention on to her. 

“Lightning, how did you try to use it?” She asked him, this time she was desperate.

“We-we tried to n-negate the bomb but it-it didn’t w-work” He stammered, pulling his face away from her. 

“I can’t g-generate that k-kind of energy though” He whimpered out, his whole body starting to tremble. 

“No, you can’t,” She agreed with him, “But the speed-force can”

Barry stared at her with curious, yet tired, eyes as she explained to him what they had done. They had gone to great lengths to get him out of his speed-force prison. The cork-sphere.. That was the key to the whole thing. He just needed that and then the speed-force storm will chase it. It was fool-proof.

“It’s like you said,” She started, dragging him out his thoughts, “A lightning rod to bring out the lightning”

She was surprised by how much force and passion went into the kiss that had smashed against her lips in seconds but she didn’t care, she just wanted to live to see tomorrow.

He had gone within seconds again, leaving the tears that were streaming down her face to come to a stop as she was back in normal time once more, no-longer in Flashtime.

* * *

**Back at the Warehouse**

Barry could feel the speed-force humming through his system as he ran, allowing his instincts to take over as he succumbed to the overwhelming power, no-longer himself. 

When he opened his eyes, he was in the heart of the storm, the cork-sphere in his sights as the speed-force storm began following him, speeding up once he had officially left the speed-force, the cork-sphere in his arms.

As he ran, he got the chance to see everyone’s motionless faces as he blasted past, his whole body ready to shut down within seconds. His vision began to blacken as his exhaustion caught up with him, wanting to swallow him entirely. The last thing he remembered was throwing the cork-sphere in the direction of the container before everything vanished.


	24. Chapter 24

**Warehouse [Central City]**   
**The same time**

Oliver blinked slowly, groaning as he sat up, his eyes widening as he realised where he was. He was at the Warehouse. He looked around the room, seeing Frost, Jesse and Cisco’s bodies all starting to stir, he felt the dread pool inside of him when he looked at the container, seeing it was blown up. He felt his blood run cold though, as he saw a red-clad hero lying motionless on the floor, his chest still. He shot up immediately, ignoring the way his legs shook as he bolted towards his friend, trying to rouse the man.

Joe rushed towards him as well, crouching down beside the other vigilante as he whispered out his son’s name, hoping he was alive. Frost, Hunter and Cisco walked over moments later, Hunter carrying an over-exerted, but awake, Jesse. Relief took over them one-by-one as they saw Barry’s eyes start to flutter open, tired and hazy light green orbs on display as he focused on his foster father. Joe held his son’s hand as he watched Barry’s head loll to the side so he could try and get a better view of Joe, not registering any others. 

“Are we dead?” He gasped out, his eyes already sliding shut as tired eyes were now hidden by heavy eyelids. Frost stood away from the ground seconds later, switching to Caitlin before they even had to ask. Caitlin crouched down beside Barry’s head, trying to get him to open his eyes once more but it was no use, he was completely out, and that was the most concerning part of the whole thing. Hunter gently moved Caitlin out of the way, trying to feel Barry’s pulse but his attempt was futile due to his cowl on his face. Caitlin and Hunter both gently pried it off of his face, granting Hunter access to the exposed skin on his neck. What he felt shook him to his core though.

“It’s extremely sluggish,” He told the doctor, “It’s like it’s barely even beating”

Joe stood up within seconds after hearing groans coming from the officers he was with at the drop. He ran to them, although he wanted to stay with his son. He knew he was going to be in good hands though. He turned his attention back onto the group behind him though for a brief second, watching as Jesse leaned against Hunter and tried to help get Barry through the breach that had opened. Oliver turned around, his eyes meeting the Detective’s concerned ones. They both nodded at each other, a silent agreement to protect Barry till the very end. 

* * *

**Airport [Central City]**   
**The same time**

Blaine had his luggage in his hand as he pulled his phone out of his pocket, trying to find Barry’s contact. Once he had found it, he called it, pressing his phone up against his ear. What shocked him though was when a voice spoke to him on the other side of the phone, and it certainly wasn’t Barry.

“ _Hunter_?” Blaine asked, his whole body going frozen with fear. He heard a lot of commotion going on in the background though, and a small part of him prayed that Hunter had become the good guy, especially since that crazy alien guy wanted him dead too.

“Now’s not really a good time, Anderson” Hunter replied, his voice frantic. 

“ _What’s going on?_ ,” He asked the speedster, “ _Where’s Barry?_ ”

“Just come to S.T.A.R Labs” Hunter told him, ending the call. Blaine grumbled under his breath and hauled a cab, telling the driver to go to the hotel he had booked. If he was going to go to S.T.A.R Labs, he was going to do it free-handed.

* * *

**S.T.A.R Labs [Central City]**   
**5 minutes later**

Hunter stared at Barry’s still figure, remembering their conversation during Flashtime. He really wanted to know Barry’s answer, mainly because he could see the longing look on the man’s face. When they arrived at the Laboratory, Caitlin had him place the man onto a bed in the medical section and had all of them, except Cisco, out of the room whilst they worked on him. Once they had him stabilised, they allowed for the others to visit him, also checking up on himself and Jesse in the process. 

“Caitlin wants me to check on you” A voice said from behind him, making him turn around and come face-to-face with Cisco, aka Vibe.

“I’m fine, really” He told the engineer, his attention diverting back to the unconscious man on the bed. Cisco sighed and sat on the opposite side of Hunter, looking at his friend’s still body. They had almost lost him today. Caitlin had told him that if he had exerted himself for just a little bit longer then he would’ve triggered a heart attack, and that wouldn’t have been good. It had been a long day for them all, but he could only imagine how it felt to the speedsters. It must’ve been the longest day of their lives. 

“Eat this,”Cisco told Hunter, passing him a protein bar from a random bench in the room. Hunter stared at it for a second before taking a bite, his eyes going wide as he realised how full this bar was making him, hell he could even feel his energy recharging. Whatever was in that bar worked wonders.

“I designed this protein bar to keep up with a speedster’s rapid metabolism” Cisco explained to Hunter, trying to engage in some small talk. Truth be told, he really did want to become friendly with Hunter, but after the whole debacle with the fake ‘Harrison Wells’ none of them wanted to become too close to people in case they got betrayed once more. Hunter nodded, flashing a smile his way before completing the bar, standing up and throwing the wrapper away into a trashcan.

“A friend of Barry’s from high school is coming to the labs,” Hunter told Cisco, “He knows Barry’s The Flash so don’t worry”

Cisco sighed in relief at that. At least they wouldn’t have to come up with some bizarre excuse as to why Barry was lying, unconscious, on a medical bed in this Laboratory instead of a hospital.

Footsteps echoing down the corridor brought their attention away from their comatose friend and onto the Cortex entry way, both of them on high alert. 

Blaine’s stomach growled as he entered the Cortex in S.T.A.R Labs, hoping he had finally made it onto the right floor, the building was huge after all. His eyes scanned the room, slight relief washing over him as he saw Hunter and Cisco sitting in seats beside a very unconscious Barry Allen. Wait, why was Barry unconscious?

All previous thoughts regarding why Hunter was there were long gone as he rushed over to the medical bed, gasping as he looked at Barry, his chest almost caving in at the sight of him. He had an oxygen mask covering his nose and mouth, an EKG wire attached to his finger and the heart monitor and his skin looked drenched, as if he had been submerged underwater for far too long. 

“What the hell happened to him?” Blaine demanded, anger coursing through his veins as he made eye contact with Hunter. Hunter deflated at the look, sighing softly. 

“It’s been a very long day,” Cisco told the Ex-Warbler, “Why don’t you sit next to me and I’ll explain it to you whilst Clarington listens to Caitlin’s advice and goes and finds Oliver to relax or something”

Just as Hunter got up, a whimper escaped the mouth of Barry, making them all look towards his direction, seeing his eyes fluttering open, well trying anyway. Cisco and Hunter shared a look, and within seconds, Hunter had flashed away, leaving the two men alone with Barry.

“Hey, Barry,” Cisco whispered to the man, patting his face softly, trying to help rouse him. Barry’s head lolled towards Blaine on the pillow, his eyelids opening slightly. He kept his eyes focused on Blaine for a few seconds before they closed, making Cisco pat his face once more, “Barry, open your eyes”

Blaine took Barry’s hand, a concerned look on his face as he felt the fingers in his hand attempt to curl around his wrist before going limp, his whole face relaxed once more.

Caitlin, Oliver and Hunter came rushing in moments later, Caitlin in front of them as she checked his vitals and his pupils' reaction. They all seemed to be normal, albeit a little bit sluggish. The doctor turned to Cisco, a small smile of relief on her face.

“Was he awake at all?” She asked her best friend, her smile not falling as Cisco nodded his head.

“He was awake for a few seconds, he kept his eyes focused on him,” Cisco told them all, pointing to Blaine. Hunter smiled softly at Blaine, nudging him with his shoulder slightly. Oliver looked back and forth between the pair, his well-known look of judging people on his face. 

“Sorry, my name is Blaine Anderson,” Blaine told Cisco, Caitlin and Oliver, poking his hand out to shake all of their hands. Cisco and Caitlin shook his hand whilst Oliver just nodded at the man, walking out of the room. Blaine didn’t think anything of it, his attention was back onto Barry.

“So, Blaine,” Caitlin began, sitting in one of the seats in the room, “How long are you in town for?”

Blaine sat down in the seat opposite her, his hand still wrapped around Barry’s. Hunter sat beside him whilst Cisco sat next to the doctor. 

“For the next week,” He told them all, making Cisco squeal.

“Well, we’re going to try and convince him to go to a karaoke bar with us,” Cisco began, pointing to Barry as he spoke,” and now maybe you’d like to come with us. You too, Hunter”

Hunter looked at the pair in shock over the invite. Why would they want to be seen with him after everything that had happened? Blaine smiled encouragingly at the older man, nodding for him. 

“Can my husband come too?” Blaine questioned them and Cisco nodded eagerly, a warm smile on his face.

  
“The more the merrier”


	25. Chapter 25

**S.T.A.R Labs**   
**18 hours until Enlightenment**

Barry felt numb. This did not just happen. Nope. He could hear people screaming in the Cortex and through his comm system but he was just numb, unable to move or say anything. He slowly sat up, his mind switching to autopilot. He shakily approached the figure on the floor, collapsing next to the body.

“Hunt?”

* * *

**S.T.A.R Labs [Central City]**   
**2 hours before**

Barry, Hunter, Blaine and Kurt were all walking around the building, taking in the size of it. After Barry had woken up from his coma, he had been given a tour around the building but he hadn’t adventured around the building since then, and that had been almost 5 years ago. Kurt and Blaine were smiling as they listened to Barry ramble on about absolute rubbish, the pair glad to see him enjoying himself for once.

Kurt let go of his husband’s hand once they ended up back in the Cortex, instead he pulled Barry back into the corridor, nodding and flashing a smile to both Blaine and Hunter before departing further into the corridor.

“What’s going on?” Barry asked the man, confused. Did something happen between him and Blaine?

What shocked him the most was when Kurt embraced the taller man, squeezing him tightly in the hug. After a moment of shock, he hugged the smaller boy, resting his chin on his shoulder. When they finally pulled away, Kurt had tears in his eyes.

“I cannot believe I held a grudge with you for this long,” He joked humorlessly, “You’re a good guy, Bas. A good guy with a checkered past but yes, a good guy” Barry smiled innocently at the compliment, “How about we leave our grudge in the past? Start fresh?”

Barry nodded and stuck his hand out to Kurt, “Clean slate, Hummel”

“Clean slate, Meerkat”

They both chuckled to each other and headed into the Cortex, the pair smirking as they saw Hunter and Blaine admiring Barry’s suit. Kurt glanced down at his watch after a second, they were all scheduled to go to a Karaoke bar and live for a little bit whilst everything was on the downlow. In fact, Caitlin and Cisco had already left to get ready. 

“Take a photo, it’ll last longer” Barry joked, walking up to the pair and standing beside Hunter, smiling as the taller man smiled down at him. To think, they had befriended the man that was the cause of his son’s mom shooting herself in the head. Jeez it had been a weird few months. Kurt approached Blaine, kissing him square on the lips before lacing their fingers together and leaving the room, Barry and Hunter trailing behind them. 

“I missed this,” Barry said to Hunter, bumping shoulders with the man. Hunter stared at him, smiling back at the man as he laughed softly and gently shoved Barry. 

* * *

**Karaoke Bar [Central City]**   
**34 minutes later**

Cisco and Caitlin were waiting as Barry, Hunter, Blaine and Kurt all arrived at the karaoke bar. Barry eyed the amount of empty glasses in front of Cisco and sent a look to Caitlin, who simply laughed and shrugged her shoulders. 

The quartet pulled up chairs at the table and they all sat down, smiling widely as they all began to diverge into some small talk.

“You did not, Barry” Caitlin laughed after Hunter had told them a story from High school.

Barry nodded in agreement, “I did. I told our english teacher that her son looks like the janitor and that I thought that the janitor was his father”

“Imagine the looks on Niff’s faces as they heard him say that” Kurt commented to Blaine, making the man spit his drink out slightly and chuckle. Hunter threw back the remaining alcohol in his drink and motioned towards the vacant Karaoke machine.

“Let’s throw it back to the good ol’ days, Allen,” Hunter joked to Barry, standing up and pulling the man up with him. Blaine and Kurt both cheered as they approached the stand, Barry pouting slightly as he noticed their whole table standing up. 

“Throwback to Sectionals, senior year?” Hunter questioned the other man, “Say we bring back One Direction?”

Barry groaned and reluctantly nodded, allowing himself to get dragged onto the stage by Hunter. God, what did he sign himself up for?

**Barry**   
_Hey girl, I'm waitin' on ya, I'm waitin' on ya_   
_Come on and let me sneak you out_   
_And have a celebration, a celebration_   
_The music up, the window's down_   
_Yeah, we'll be doing what we do_   
_Just pretending that we're cool_   
_And we know it too_   
_Yeah, we'll keep doing what we do_   
_Just pretending that we're cool_   
_So tonight_

Barry rolled his eyes as he saw Caitlin and Cisco both singing along. Blaine just innocently smiled at the man as they made eye contact whilst Kurt was dancing and singing along with the other two. He turned his gaze onto Hunter, who simply smiled at the man before taking over for him. He was really enjoying himself.  
  
**Hunter**  
 _Let's go crazy, crazy, crazy till we see the sun_  
 _I know we only met but let's pretend it's love_  
 _And never, never, never stop for anyone_  
 _Tonight let's get some_  
 _And live while we're young_

Nostalgia hit the pair as they danced and sang around the building, forgetting where they were as they imagined they were back on the stage at Sectionals, their adrenaline fueling them as they showed off.

**Both**   
_Whoa oh oh oh_   
_Whoa oh oh oh_   
_Wanna live while we're young_   
_Whoa oh oh oh_

More people began to gather around their table and Barry could only just make out who it was and he wanted to scream, so he did--mentally that is. Joe, Iris, Wally and Cecile were all crowded around their table with their friends, singing and dancing as well. Why was his luck that bad?

_Tonight let's get some_   
_And live while we're young_

Embarrassed, Barry looked down at his feet, trying to ignore the heat that had rushed to his cheeks as he made eye contact with his foster father. Just before that, he could see the look Iris had given him and his heart swelled in his chest. 

**Hunter**   
_Hey girl, it's now or never, it's now or never_   
_Don't over-think, just let it go_   
_And if we get together, yeah, get together_   
_Don't let the pictures leave your phone, oh_   
_Yeah, we'll be doing what we do_   
_Just pretending that we're cool_   
_So tonight_

Wally smirked at his older brother as he sang and danced his heart out, as if he didn’t have a care in the world. His brother was good at singing, he’d give him that. 

**Barry**   
_Let's go crazy, crazy, crazy till we see the sun_   
_I know we only met but let's pretend it's love_   
_And never, never, never stop for anyone_   
_Tonight let's get some_   
_And live while we're young_

**Both**   
_Whoa oh oh oh_   
_Whoa oh oh oh_   
_Wanna live while we're young_   
_Whoa oh oh oh_

_Tonight let's get some_   
_And live while we're young_   
_And girl, you and I,_   
_We're 'bout to make some memories tonight_

**Hunter**   
_I wanna live while we're young_   
_We wanna live while we're young_

**Barry**   
_Let's go crazy, crazy, crazy till we see the sun_   
_I know we only met but let's pretend it's love_   
_And never, never, never stop for anyone_   
_Tonight let's get some_   
_And live while we're young_   
_Crazy, crazy, crazy till we see the sun_   
_I know we only met but let's pretend it's love_   
_And never, never, never stop for anyone_   
_Tonight let's get some_   
_And live while we're young_   
_Wanna live, wanna live, wanna live_   
_Come on, young_   
_Wanna live, wanna live, wanna live_   
_While we're young_   
_Wanna live, wanna live, wanna live_   
_Tonight let's get some_

_And live while we're young_

Hunter and Barry stood on the stage, breathing heavily at the end of the song. Everyone in the building was clapping and cheering for the duo as they put the mics back onto the stands and walked towards their table. 

Joe patted his son on the back when they were back at their table, chuckling as Barry threw his gaze down to the floor, avoiding everyone's looks, even Hunter’s.

Just then, a phone ringing brought Barry’s attention away from his embarrassment and towards his phone. He furrowed his eyebrows as he read who it was.

_Oliver Queen_

He answered the call and stepped away from everyone, heading outside of the bar to have some more privacy and peace and quiet. He stood with his back leaning against the brick wall of the building in this alleyway as he smiled.

“Hey, Ollie,” Barry began, smiling widely as he heard Oliver chuckle, “What’s up?”

“ _Jessie has made his mark in Star City_ ,” Oliver began and Barry’s eyes darkened immediately, his whole body tense and on alert, “ _He’s demanding the ‘Scarlet Speedster heads up to Star and finishes the fight once and for all_ ’”

Within seconds Barry had sped off, rushing to S.T.A.R Labs to grab his suit. He had ended the call with Oliver just before he rushed to S.T.A.R Labs and sent a group text to everyone.

_Jessie in Star. Oliver needs help._

Seconds later a portal opened and out stepped Cisco, Caitlin, Hunter, Blaine and Kurt (who hesitantly did so, still unsure of the whole thing), Joe, Cecile, Wally and Iris.

Cisco and Caitlin ran around the Cortex grabbing various weapons and their suits as they got ready. Hunter stood dead center in the room, unsure of whether to follow or not. He still hadn’t gone out into the field since Flashtime and they all knew how that ended.

“Hunter, I made you a suit for times like this,” Cisco said as he bumped into the man, “It’s in the closet with Barry’s old suits”

Hunter turned around and faced both Kurt and Blaine, nodding curtly at the duo before speeding into the closet and grabbing his suit. When he ended back in the Cortex, everyone had frozen and stared in awe at his suit. It was a black version of Barry’s, but instead of it being completely black, it had a blue emblem and instead of the gold on Barry’s suit it had been replaced with a metallic blue. It looked amazing.  
“You ready to do this,” Barry asked, his cowl on his face as he looked at his friend, “You might get a little banged up”

Hunter chuckled softly and pulled his own cowl up, meeting Barry’s gaze. If any outsider were to walk in, they’d call him Zoom--the speedster that had terrorized and tortured everything and everyone in his path, almost destroying Barry’s humanity and demolishing Caitlin’s sanity whilst he was at it.

“Let’s do this” He said to Barry, smiling at his friend before following behind him as he flashed out of the room and towards Star. 

This was going to be interesting.

* * *

**Verdant (Star City)**   
**5 minutes later**

Barry, Hunter, Oliver and Diggle were all watching the security cameras Felicity had hacked into. Barry was tense whilst Hunter kept a straight face and whilst Diggle remained stoic. Oliver, however, continued to send Barry concerned glances every now and again.

“When does he want to meet?” Hunter asked, hearing Cisco and Caitlin chirping away in his ear through the comm system. They were going to be the back-up, only because they could always contact Kara a lot faster than what any others could.

“I’m not waiting for him” Barry spoke, his voice an octave lower than usual, and it held anger behind it. Hunter grabbed Barry’s wrist, tightening his grip when Barry attempted to pull away.

“It could be a trap, Barry” Oliver began, nodding at Hunter and then looking back to his best friend, “Who knows what could happen if you don’t abide the time he set”

“None of us want to see you hurt, Barr” Hunter whispered to him, wrapping his right arm over Barry’s shoulders, keeping him tucked into his side and securely trapped there if he tried to run. 

“I just want my son back,” He whispered back to Hunter, sagging in the older man’s grip, his head lying tiredly against his shoulder. 

Oliver sighed and turned his attention back onto Hunter, biting the inside of his cheek.

“It’s almost 10,” Oliver informed him, “He wants to meet at 10”

Hunter nodded and continued to watch the security feed in case anything were to happen before. Barry kept his gaze focused onto the monitor, not exactly paying attention to the footage at all. 

It had been 15 minutes and still, not a single thing had changed in the feed. Barry had remained watching the monitor in a daze, not paying attention at all, even as these two kids ramped their motorcycles into the fountain in the center of the city, making them both dash away. It made Hunter and John laugh, hell even Oliver laughed.

It was officially 10 when Barry was finally pulled out of his daze by Oliver. He blinked in confusion to the Vigilante before his hearing returned, making him look around the scene in confusion as well. He really hadn’t been paying attention at all. 

Hunter had sped off to the scene first, claiming he was more than willing to be used as bait at this point. Diggle had also gone to the scene as well, wanting to make sure no civilians got caught in the crossfire before the cops turned up. They couldn’t let it end up like Dalton all over again.

“--arry?” Oliver was calling him again, shaking him by the shoulders time to get his attention. Barry jumped at the sudden movement, focusing his attention back onto Oliver.

“Hey, you with me?” Oliver asked him, keeping his grip on the man but moving his hands down to the top of his arms instead. Barry nodded and smiled unconvincingly but Oliver just sighed and pulled his hood up and walked away from the man, nodding at him before he vanished from the room.

Barry turned his attention back onto the screen, his stomach dropping as he saw Jessie come into view.

This was it. This was how it was all going to end.

* * *

**At the site [Star City]**   
**Same time**

Hunter stared at Jessie as he sauntered towards him, smiling big as he made sure his face was on full display. He wanted everyone to know who he was, how fitting.

“Clarington,” Jessie nodded at him, smirking as he heard the purr of multiple vehicles approaching the scene. John and Oliver.

He looked around the area though, his face contorted as he saw Barry was nowhere to be seen. He continued to approach Hunter, even as Hunter stepped back a few steps, clearly uncomfortable by the close proximity with the alien.

Oliver shot a warning arrow at Jessie, making him look around, still surprised he was nowhere to be seen. Maybe this was part of their plan, but if not, then fair play to them.

“You got the Arrow to help you?” Jessie scoffed at them, no longer approaching them. Instead, he crossed his arms over his chest and stared at Hunter, eyeing him up.  
Barry sped to the scene seconds later, his cowl up and anger radiating off of him. Oliver and Diggle both came out of hiding seconds later, Oliver’s bow trained on Jessie the entire time. Barry was trying so hard not to punch him, Hunter noticed so he charged forward and grabbed Barry’s arm, keeping him from starting anything.

“You’re not the only one to bring your friends” Jessie commented, smirking as something floated down from the sky in this chair, making Barry pale whilst Oliver and John just shared a look. Hunter didn’t bother looking up though, he knew that it was Jessie’s employer.

“Who are you?” Barry yelled at the object, making Hunter yank his arm back. 

“Hello, Flash” The object said to him, smirking at the man clad in all red. The chair continued to float down until it was a full foot away from the floor. The man sitting in the chair just smiled at them all innocently. 

“I’ve been thinking about this very moment, you know” The man in the chair began, leaning forward slightly, “Well I’ve been thinkin about every moment in all honesty”

Oliver moved towards them both, his bow now trained on the man in the chair whilst John had his pistol loaded and aimed at Jessie. 

Barry just squinted his eyes, staring intently at the duo.

“I want my son back” Barry managed to grit out to the duo, his fists clenching at the reminder that his son’s life was on the line.Jessie smirked whilst the man in the chair just smiled innocently and pulled a hologram up on his floating chair. Barry stopped breathing at the photo being displayed. 

It was of his son. Just, sitting there, smiling and reaching to grab something off camera. Oliver held his drawn back bow in position, aiming at Jessie’s head whilst Diggle switched to aiming at the man in the chair.

“As I was saying gentlemen,” Jessie began as the photo vanished, “You’re not the only one to bring friends”

Jessie flew straight at Barry, grabbing him by the throat and flying him up into the sky whilst John, Oliver and Hunter dealt with the man in the chair.

In Barry’s comm system, he could just make out Cisco saying: “I’M CALLING HIM THE THINKER. SUCK ON THAT ALIEN SCUM”

“Can’t breathe there, Smythe?” Jessie asked him, tightening his hold on Barry’s throat. Barry was completely red by the time Jessie let go of his neck. Black was clouding the edges of his vision as he fell to the ground, his body twisting and turning in the sky. Just then, something grabbed him and kept him in the air. Barry’s vision was slowly coming back, and it was back just enough for him to realise that it had been Jessie to grab him and not someone else.

Back on the floor, Oliver had begun firing his arrows once ‘The Thinker’--as Cisco had called him--had vanished in thin air, as if he had retracted himself from the situation entirely. They knew he was still there though, the humming of his chair as it flew was very loud and recognisable. 

John had taken shelter seconds later, bullets began flying past his head as they were under attack by an invisible force in a chair. Hunter remained still though, calculating every move and every bullet fired, he did have the time to do that after all--being a speedster did have a few perks.

Hunter raced around the scene, collecting the bullets as they were soon seconds away from hitting Oliver. He grabbed the 5 bullets that were scattered around him and then grabbed the three heading directly to his heart, grabbing them before they even had the chance to hit the Vigilante. 

Jessie flew to the ground moments later, chucking the Scarlet Speedster across the pavement, smiling as he struggled to get to his feet.

The cops had arrived 5 minutes ago, setting up a perimeter on the fight, and making sure no civilians were in the area, so when Jessie turned towards the cop cars, Oliver did everything he could to make sure he didn’t hurt any of them. Quentin Lance watched in shock as Oliver tackled him out of the way of Jessie’s heat vision, keeping him on the ground even as Jessie aimed in a different direction. When he felt Oliver climb off of him, he looked at him, thanking him with a simple nod. Oliver returned the sentiment.

Hunter ran to Barry, grabbing his arm and helping support him as he unstably climbed to his feet. John had come out from hiding seconds later, supporting Barry’s other side as Oliver joined the trio, standing in front of Barry with his bow drawn as he aimed at Jessie. 

The Thinker revealed himself seconds later, flying down so he was beside Jessie as they moved towards the heroes. 

Hunter knocked Oliver and nodded for him to continue supporting a dazed Barry as he stepped forward, ready to defend the people he cares about. Barry looked up from the floor, his blurry vision landing on the form of his friend. Fear bubbled away in his chest as he began to piece together as to what Hunter’s plan was. 

“Stand down, Jessie” Hunter began, taking another step forward, “This doesn’t have to end like this”

“But it does” Jessie replied, his eyes turning red, “You and I both know how this is going to turn out”

Just give him back his son” Hunter reasoned, his arms lifting up to show he wasn’t posing as a threat, “Let him see his son”

Jessie chuckled and shook his head, approaching Hunter slower. Hunter remained standing still, his hands still raised up. 

Barry had fully woken up as Jessie’s eyes glowed red, making his heart sink.

_No..no..no_

Suddenly, Jessie, Hunter and The Thinker had vanished in a bang, a bright light making them turn away. Barry let go of Oliver and ran to where they used to be, doing a full circle as he tried to determine where they had just gone. Oliver looked to Quentin, who had a knowing look on his face. Lance jogged over to the trio, speaking to Oliver directly, although his gaze was on the Scarlet Speedster.

“Where do you think they took him?” He asked Oliver, patting the man on the back as he finally looked at him. 

Just as Oliver opened his mouth to answer, Barry had flashed away, making all of them confused. It was when Felicity’s voice in their comm systems erupted to life that they ran to their own vehicles and began driving off, leaving the S.C.P.D confused and beginning to trail behind them. 

* * *

**S.T.A.R Labs [Central City]**   
**58 seconds before**

Caitlin, Cisco, Iris, Joe, Cecile, Wally, Blaine and Kurt were all standing in the Cortex, watching the security footage Felicity had sent them a link for when the bang happened. They all looked at each other, confused until their security alarm started blaring, making them all on edge. Cisco pulled up their own security footage, his blood running cold at one of the images from a camera in the speed-lab.

It was of Hunter, being held by Jessie as The Thinker was staring intently into the camera, waving at it.

Caitlin raced to the comm system, telling Barry their location immediately and within seconds he had raced from Star back to Central City and was in the speed-lab with them, his cowl coming off as he was in his own building.

Cisco and Caitlin ran towards the speed-lab, leaving them all alone in the Cortex to watch the footage.

* * *

**Speed-Lab [Central City]**   
**The same time**

The scene was too familiar. Someone who he cares about being right in front of him, put right into the crossfire. He had ripped his cowl off the moment he entered S.T.A.R Labs, no longer wanting to keep his face--that was portraying every single emotion known--hidden. He wanted them to see his hurt and his fear perfectly.

He could hear the echoing of footsteps in the many halls of the building, the sound of them running making some sort of hope appear in his chest, but it was slowly melting away as Jessie grabbed Hunter’s throat, tightening his grip as Hunter’s arms flew to his neck, trying to free himself from the grip.

“Let him go” Barry whimpered out, taking a step forward. The Thinker just remained in his chair, not advancing to the speedster whilst he had the chance, the man did have his attention somewhere else after all. 

Caitlin and Cisco ran into the room seconds later, both of them prepared for a fight. They walked to Barry’s side, standing with him as they took in the scene.

Cisco shot first, firing a vibe blast at The Thinker, his chair flying backwards from the blast. Caitlin and Cisco continued to face the Thinker as Barry stayed in front of Jessie, his chest heaving for breath as his chest tightened up from looking at Hunter, he had no idea how much longer he’d be able to live. 

Hunter’s face was varying shades of red, much like his was when Zoom had pinned him to the wall in the treadmill room, which is now the med-bay, 2 years ago. Barry took another step towards the alien, his body trembling as he reached an arm out, much like he had done with his father’s death. 

He remembered that incident as if it were yesterday. That was the day the old, happy Barry Allen had died, and instead, a more sad, broken man replaced him.

Cisco and Caitlin had gone flying seconds later, both of them being thrown back by the Thinker’s telekinesis. Barry had been thrown back into a wall seconds later, being pinned down on the floor by the Thinker.

Then it happened. A crack. Hunter’s body on the floor, lying lifeless as Barry screamed. He screamed and he screamed until he couldn’t anymore, until he had lost his voice entirely. Caitlin and Cisco let their tears fall in their dazed states at the sound of their best friend screaming. 

All of the weight that had been pinning him down to the floor had vanished, and so had The Thinker. Jessie though, he remained where he was, enjoying the sight of the speedster on the floor, vulnerable and hurting. Harry Wells ran into the room seconds later, obviously coming from the breach room, his tranquiliser gun in hand. He fired a few shots at Jessie, surprised that the alien didn’t even try to fight it, instead, he allowed himself to be sedated and he fell to the floor, collapsing in a big heap.

Barry felt numb. This did not just happen. Nope. He could hear people screaming in the Cortex and through his comm system but he was just numb, unable to move or say anything. He slowly sat up, his mind switching to autopilot. He shakily approached the figure on the floor, collapsing next to the body.

“Hunt?”

Hunter’s eyes were wide open, his face still red but paling by the second. 

Tears leaked out of the speedster’s eyes as he remained next to his friend’s limp body, his throat hoarse and painful from all of his screaming. He was trembling horrifically, he realised as he reached out to close Hunter’s eyes for him.

“I forgive you, Hunt” Barry cried out, not hearing the sound of footsteps rushing into the room, “I forgave you for that a long time ago”

He remembered how he felt in Flashtime before he got the chance to tell Hunter his answer, and he had felt awful for it, and now, this just made him feel even worse.

Joe approached Barry, crouching down beside his son and pulling him into his chest, tears in his own eyes as he felt Barry begin to cry in his arms. They’d get Jessie back for this, if it was the last thing they ever did.


	26. Chapter 26

**Central City**   
**10 Hours until Enlightenment**

After Cisco and Caitlin had officially come to, they had helped Wally move Hunter’s body into the Medbay, leaving Joe, Iris and Cecile alone to deal with Barry.

Oliver had arrived around 2 hours ago, he had sprinted through the building and into the speed-lab, where Joe was trying to coax Barry into the Cortex but he didn’t move, or even respond in this case. It was like the night his father had been murdered, he had gone into shock and didn’t come out of it for awhile. 

John had also arrived with Oliver, staying in the Cortex with Blaine and Kurt as they tried to grasp what they had just witnessed. As much as they wanted to go and comfort Barry, they just couldn’t move themselves. The sound of his neck being snapped was still ringing in Blaine’s mind.

When they finally managed to get through to Barry and drag him into the Cortex, the mood was tense, and sad. This was just the worst thing ever, even more so for Barry, Kurt and Blaine. They had known him since High School, regardless of any bad blood, he had still been involved in their lives even as just acquaintances.   
Joe sat Barry down in Cisco’s chair, keeping a hand on his shoulder as the speedster put his head in his hands. Caitlin, Harry and Cisco came back from the Med-Bay seconds later, putting up the pipeline footage so they could keep an eye on Jessie.

“I’m gonna go get Kara,” Cisco began, his voice quiet, “he’s better off on their Earth than our own”

No-one bothered to fight with him on that so when he opened a breach and stepped through it, no-one stopped him from doing so. Not even Harry, who was against any idea Cisco even had--including the ones that got shot down before he had even voiced them aloud.

Iris crouched down in front of her boyfriend, bending her head so it was pressed against his hair, her eyes closed as she felt his body tremble in her embrace. She had her arms circled around his back, rubbing soft, comforting circles with her thumb.

“I’ll go with Kara to Earth-38 when Kara goes back” Oliver announced to the room, making Barry slowly lift his head up from his hands and reveal his bloodshot eyes as he faced his mentor, “I want to interrogate this son of a bitch” 

Iris looked at Barry, wiping his tears away for him as he looked back at the ground, not bothering to hide his crying anymore. Joe patted Barry’s shoulder as his phone rang, making him groan. Cecile looked at Joe with a knowing look, taking his place beside Barry as he answered his phone. 

Cisco, Kara, J’onn, Winn and Alex came out of a breach moments later, Kara storming towards the pipeline and towards Jessie. Winn walked towards Barry, as did J’onn and patted the man on the back, Winn giving him a hug from his left side as they followed Kara to the pipeline and to Jessie’s cell. Alex remained though, instead, she walked into the Med-Bay and towards Hunter’s corpse, not a single tear in her eye as she looked at his body. 

Barry stood up seconds later, wiping his face in one swift motion before turning to both Blaine and Kurt, seeing their tear-stained faces. They nodded at him and within seconds he had changed into his normal clothes, and then a moment later he had grabbed them both and sped them to their hotel room. He stayed in the rook with them as they collapsed onto their bed, drained of any energy they once had. Blaine stood up a moment later though, and wrapped his arms around Barry, hugging the speedster tightly as he began softly crying once more. It was supposed to be a good day, this wasn’t supposed to happen. 

Kurt walked towards his bag on the far side of their room, opening it and pulling out a bottle of vodka. Blaine pulled away from Barry seconds later, rubbing his hand up and down on the taller man’s arms before turning towards his husband, his eyes going wide as Kurt approached them both, the bottle of vodka in his hand. He handed the bottle to Barry, who took it hesitantly.

“You look like you could use a drink” Kurt said, not going into detail as to why he had bought it in the first place. It didn’t matter though, as Barry had thanked them both and left the building a second later, still holding onto the bottle of vodka Kurt had given him.

He was sitting in his bedroom at Joe’s house, halfway through the bottle when Caitlin called him. He sighed softly and answered it, putting it on loudspeaker. He could hear Caitlin and Cisco typing away on their keyboards through the microphone.

“ _We found out who Jessie’s employer is_ ” Caitlin told him, her voice soft, “ _Do you want to come to S.T.A.R Labs?_ ”

Barry shook his head no, before realising that she couldn’t see that so he replied no, trying to hide the hiccup in his voice as he spoke. 

“ _His name is Clifford DeVoe,_ ” Caitlin began, “ _He is a history teacher. He has a wife called Marlieze_ ”

Barry nodded again, gulping down the remaining half of the vodka bottle. It seemed that the amount he had consumed had managed to make a dent against his rapid metabolism as he could see everything in a slight blurry haze. Ending the call on Caitlin, he sent a text to Kurt.

_nks fr t voda. I can’t been able to get drunk. Iy works well_

He turned his phone off and slowly climbed to his feet, the empty glass bottle in his hand as he stumbled to the staircase, beginning to descend down them. He had to stop a couple of times though, only because he thought he’d end up falling down them but when he made it down to the bottom, he stumbled into the kitchen and threw the bottle into the trash, satisfied when he heard the glass smash. He walked towards the fridge, smiling as he saw another bottle of vodka in there. He thought that with Joe and Cecile now moving in with each other that they’d not have as many alcoholic drinks around, especially with Cecile’s daughter Joanie. Regardless, he grabbed the bottle and walked into the living room, deciding the stairs would be too much effort to walk up. Barry sat himself down on one of the couches and put his feet up on the coffee table, opening the bottle and putting it against his lips, letting the drink burn his throat as it entered his stomach. 

The last time he had used alcohol as a form of release was back in High School. It was the day after the whole slushie scandal and he found himself sitting in the gay bar, Scandals. He had drunk a lot, and ended up drunk dialing Thad who had to fish him out of the bar, and to this day, none of the other Warblers or even Hunter had heard of him doing that. So, Barry drank the alcohol until he was unaware of his surroundings and unaware of the outside world. 

When Joe, Cecile, Iris and Wally returned to the West home 30 minutes later, they did not expect to find the man sprawled out on their couch, an empty bottle of vodka beside him and two empty bottles of beer beside him on the coffee table. Iris sighed softly as she approached her boyfriend on the couch, who seemed asleep, and nudged him softly, making his eyes shoot open. Iris didn’t even need to be a doctor to note that his pupils were dilated and acting sluggishly. Wally grabbed the empty bottles and walked towards the trash can in the kitchen whilst Cecile and Joe remained in the doorway, looking at each other with concerned looks.

“Babe?” Iris asked him, her left hand on his cheek, stroking it softly to help him focus on her.

“Mmmm,” He smiled dopely at her, his grin lopsided as he did so, “wuv yu”

His lopsided grin felt like a kick in the gut, Iris noted as tears filled her eyes as she looked at him. She knew he couldn’t get drunk, so he must’ve drank a lot for him to be this far gone. Cecile approached the pair seconds later, sitting to Barry’s right as Iris moved to grab his hands and haul the drunk man to his feet. Cecile supported his right side until Wally gently moved her out of the way and helped her sister get him up the stairs and into his bedroom so he could sleep. Joe was on the phone by the time they came back downstairs. He was talking to Caitlin.

“We don’t know how much he’s got in his system, Cait,” Joe told her, stepping outside and onto the porch, closing the door behind him.

“I thought he couldn’t get drunk?” Wally asked both Iris and Cecile, confused and concerned for his older brother’s mental health and well-being.

“He can't,” Iris confirmed, crossing her arms over her chest.

“But how come he is then?” Wally questioned them both once more. Cecile just looked back and forth between the pair, uncomfortable in the situation. Sure, it was one thing to find her boyfriend’s son on the couch, intoxicated out of his mind but it was another thing for him to theoretically not be able to become drunk in the first place. It made zero sense. 

“I don’t know, Wally” Iris grumbled out, moving to sit on the couch where Barry had been just minutes before. Iris was quite amazed though, amazed at how he managed to get himself drunk instead of getting alcohol poisoning from the amount in his system but then again, his metabolism was probably dealing with it for him. Either that or karma would get him for it in the morning.

* * *

**Unknown Location**   
**The same time**

Clifford and Marlieze were all standing in the main room of this warehouse, a single light on in the middle of the room giving it this ominous feel.

“In 10 hours the enlightenment will be complete” He told his wife, smiling as she walked towards him to give him a quick peck on the cheek. 

“Shall we rule the world?” She asked him, lacing her arm through his.

“We shall”


	27. Chapter 27

**S.T.A.R Labs [Central City]**   
**5 hours until the Enlightenment**

Jessie was smirking from his side of the glass in the pipeline as he was face-to-face with Oliver, Barry and Kara. 

“Why did DeVoe hire you?” Oliver began, moving from his place beside Barry to be inches away from the glass. God, all he wanted to do was kill him. He caused pain to the people he cared about, he wasn’t going to just let that slide.

“What makes you think you’ll get any answers from me?” Jessie asked the trio, staring at them all. His gaze lingered on Barry and Kara a lot longer than it did on Oliver.

“In High School,” Barry began, stepping forward to stand next to Oliver, “You were a normal human being. Making mistakes, feeling pain, knowing that the future would be the time to remake yourself and persevere through everything, no matter how hard things get. You’re not the same person, Jessie. Tell me what he’s got on you and I promise that he will pay for everything that he’s done”

Kara watched as Jessie faltered for a second before smiling widely, crossing his arms over his chest as he looked at them all impatiently. Oliver tensed and stood closer to Barry, not out of fear but because he didn’t want Barry to end up getting hurt once more.

“Why does he want to brainwash everyone in the city?” Kara asked this time, her fists clenched.

“Wrong,” Jessie commented, “He doesn’t want to just brainwash the entire city. No, he’s planning something much bigger”

“He’s gonna use the Enlightenment to take control of the world,” Jessie continued, “And there’s nothing you can do to stop him or it. Those pocket dimensions he’s been opening up for the past two years are for him to collect all the materials he needs to help him achieve his potential”

“Did you just quote Dalton’s description?” Barry asked him humorlessly, although both Jessie and Kara did snort in response, finding it funny.

“Y’know,” Kara began, smiling innocently at him, “I was thinking about letting you come back to our Earth and go on trial for everything you’ve done, but the more I think about it, the more this outcome sounds better for you. If you don’t tell us how to stop it, then I’ll leave you here, in this cell where your powers don’t work, and I will happily allow for you to be brainwashed whilst I will have Barry and Oliver and all of their friends and family back on my Earth as this happens”

“Now that’s not very heroic of you,” Jessie retorted, “Leaving everyone else to suffer whilst you watch from afar”

They were all in silence for a good 5 minutes before Jessie spoke up once more, and Barry finally felt some hope in his chest.

“The materials he gathered are for him to build satellites, if you take the main one out of the equation the code he’s put into the system will be useless and it won’t work” Jessie responded, “If you take out the wrong one though, he will connect to another one and the Enlightenment will still go through so make sure you take out the leading one because it takes days to fix the mainframe once it’s been destroyed”

Barry nodded and smiled at Jessie, speeding out of the room whilst Oliver and Kara just looked at each other, realising what they had to do now. They had to escort him back to Earth-38 for him to await trial.

Oliver turned around and grabbed the meta-human cuffs behind him, handing them to Kara so she could put them on Jessie. She walked towards the cell and unlocked it, she subdued him and put the cuffs on him, keeping a very tight hold on him as they left the pipeline and went into the Cortex, where Cisco was waiting to take them all home.

* * *

**Foundry [Star City]**   
**25 minutes later**

After much persuasion from both Barry and Kara (right before she left), they had decided to set up their team in the Foundry. Only because one of the Satellites in DeVoe’s scheme was stationed to hover above Star City at the time of the Enlightenment. In all honesty, they still had no idea what Satellites were actually involved with the whole thing, they were just hoping and praying that the one they’ve got their eyes on would be involved and would be the main one, only because they couldn’t find any others in the country.

Barry was sitting quietly in the Foundry when Cisco walked in. Once they had located where the first Satellite was, Barry had immediately told them to back off and to allow him to take it down himself, which of course got a chorus of angry words thrown his way but he didn’t care, this was his fight and he sure as hell was gonna win it.

“You figured it out yet?” He asked the speedster, walking towards him.

Barry sighed before responding, he kept his gaze on the monitor he was looking at, eyeing the Satellite’s course from orbiting the world, “No, I-I hit the generator, I could rip out most of the wires but none of that would matter if it’s the wrong Satellite”

“Actually, I meant,” Cisco began, stopping in front Barry, “Have you figured out how come you lost your damn mind?”

Barry looked hurt, “Dude..” he sighed and looked at Cisco, “I..I’m sorry.. I’m just--”

“You’re just trying to keep us safe, I know,” Cisco interrupted him, “It’s starting to sound real familiar coming out of your mouth”

Something in Barry seemed to have snapped and he suddenly became very defensive, “I can’t let you all do something that is clearly between me and DeVoe. If he wanted you guys involved he would’ve done something to you, made it personal towards you, he didn’t take anything that belongs to you. He took my kid, that makes it my fight”

“It is our fight because we refuse to let you do it alone” Cisco argued to his best friend, getting frustrated with the man.

“Did you not hear the part where I said ‘he took my kid’?,” Barry almost yelled, “He could kill him if we make one wrong move! Patty is already dead because of him, I can’t lose him too!”

“But if you don’t let us help he’s dead anyway!” Cisco told him, “We’ll get brainwashed, including him, and do you really think that DeVoe would care what would happen to him after he’s completed his goal? If this does not work, then this is the end of our world, Barry!”

“NO!” Barry yelled at Cisco, “Losing my best friends, my son, and my family and that being MY fault, THAT is the end of my world! You may think it’s worth the risk but I couldn’t live with myself”

Team Flash and Team Arrow had walked in seconds later, all of them waiting by the sidelines for the argument to stop, or to spiral out of control.

“Barry,” Cisco began, his voice low, tears shining in his eyes, “You cannot sideline us, because of what happened to him”

Cisco pointed to the wall behind Barry, a photo of all the people who had died in this was there, and a photo of Hunter from Dalton was in the center of it all, and tears flooded into Barry’s eyes.

“Alright,” Barry began softly, only so Cisco would hear, “I don’t need you to be my therapist”

Barry stood up and began walking towards the door when Cisco started yelling again, “Look, we all lost somebody okay? But that never gives us an excuse to shut each other out!”

“I said drop it, alright?” Barry yelled at Cisco, throwing his arms into the air in frustration.

“YOU THINK YOU’RE THE ONLY ONE WHO FEELS BAD ABOUT HUNTER DYING?” Cisco yelled at him, guilt in his voice.

“Guys,” Caitlin said from where she was by the door, near Felicity and Oliver. 

“You know he apologised to me in Flashtime,” Barry told Cisco, “He told me that he was sorry for everything he had done and I never got the chance to tell him I forgive him. I pushed him out there, I asked him to join us, I gave him that second chance and now he’s dead. My burden”

“We made the decision together,” Cisco began, “We gave Hunter the choice to join us and he did. You wanna talk about burdens? I made his suit and pushed him out there as well, I didn’t care back then if they wanted him dead because I didn’t know him but now that I do know him, I regret ever wanting that on him”

Barry looked down, barely holding himself together and everyone could see that, especially Iris. She had tried to get in between the boys but Oliver had grabbed her arm and kept her in place.

“I..I know that,” Barry sounded defeated, “and I know that we’re running out of time and I.. I can’t do this by myself but I can’t lose any more people because of this.. I can’t have that resting on me..”

Barry stormed out seconds later, Iris following him out of the room as Oliver walked towards Cisco, wanting to know what started the argument.

Barry was in the hallway when Iris approached him, her hand going to his arm to stop him from walking off. He looked at her when he felt a hand on his arm.

“Harry and I have been doing some digging and we found Marliese,” She told him, her chest swelling with happiness as she saw a slight smile appear on his face, “She’s all the way in London, United Kingdom”

Barry reached into his pocket and pulled something out; it was the extrapolator. He smiled as he handed it to her, his hand going underneath her chin and pulling her towards his lips, kissing her. She leaned into the kiss herself, adding more passion. When they separated, Barry looked at her and pulled her in for a hug, sighing softly. They could use Marliese to go against her husband, but it was whether she would want to or not.

“I love you, Bartholomew Henry Allen” She whispered into his ear, smiling when she heard him mumble something incoherently but she knew what he said. She just knew him that well. 

They pulled away seconds later and Iris smiled at him once more before walking back into the room, the extrapolator in her hand.


	28. Chapter 28

His whole body felt numb. His head was pounding yet he didn’t feel the pain, instead, he felt his rapidly beating heart trying to escape his chest as his legs moved, both of them shaking more and more with each step. This was it.. It was now or never..

Barry moved his right hand towards his comm system, taking a huge deep breath before speaking, “I love you, Iris Anne West.. Don’t ever forget it”

He launched himself towards the burning satellite, feeling the heat melt his skin. He pulled back his right arm and collided his fist against the object, his world going black seconds later.

* * *

**Star City**   
**Three hours earlier**

Barry was busy walking around the city as his phone pinged. After the fight with Cisco, he decided to go on a walk to try and clear his head, hoping that if he scoped out the potential site for where the satellite would be then he’d feel even more prepared. He pulled his phone out of his pocket, frowning as he read Iris’ text.

**Iris** _Marliese won’t help. She refused to do anything against her husband no matter how badly he had been treating her_

He slipped nonchalantly into an alleyway, putting his phone against his ear as he rang his girlfriend. She answered on the first ring.

“What happened between her and Clifford then?” Barry asked immediately, continuously checking between the two exits of the alleyway, making sure he could escape if something were to try and attack him, even if he was The Flash. 

“ _Apparently he’s gone full on psychopath,_ ” Iris told him, “ _He no longer cares about building a better world, instead he wants to officially rule it when everyone is brainwashed_ ”

Barry groaned angrily and was tempted to throw his phone but he didn’t, but he did tighten his grip on the object. Iris could hear in Barry’s voice how angry that made him, and she wished she could do anything to help him but she couldn’t, instead she would just let him get it all out of his system.

“We’re running out of time, Iris,” Barry told her desperately, “If we can’t get Marliese to side with us then it’s game over unless that satellite is the right one!”

“Iris, please tell me you’ve got a backup plan,” Barry asked her, his body starting to shake, “Please Iris.. please tell me you know how to fix this..”

Tears were slowly falling down Barry’s face as he continued to cry into the phone, begging Iris to fix it all. The last time he had felt this overwhelmed was the day Wally had gotten stuck in the speed-force, he had just been stabbed by Savitar and they had all left him to deal with the thoughts by himself. It just wasn’t fair.

Iris was at a loss for words as she listened to Barry crying into the phone. She knew how stressed out he was but this just didn’t seem right. This was more personal than that, it was about his son. 

“ _Babe_ ,” Iris began, interrupting his sobs, “ _We will stop DeVoe and you’ll get to meet your son_ ”

It was a promise that she knew she might not be able to keep. It was out of her control what would happen to Barry’s son but she just hoped that her words were enough to calm the Scarlet Speedster down, she hated seeing him distressed. 

“You-you really think so?” He asked quietly, empty, finally drained from everything.

Tears were built up in her own eyes as she took a second to compose herself. Swallowing the lump in her throat, she said, “ _Yes, I know so. We will stop DeVoe and get your son back_ ”

Barry took a deep breath and nodded his head, thanking her before ending the call, wiping all of his tears away. Just as he went to speed away though, something was jammed into his neck and everything faded away from him.

* * *

**Unknown location**   
**5 minutes later**

When Blaine finally woke up, his head was pounding, his vision was blurry and the room just so happened to be spinning. He looked around the room as his vision cleared up, his blood running cold as he saw a figure lying in the cage beside him.. Barry. 

He seemed unharmed, just unconscious and that was a relief for him, mainly because it meant that he could use his speed and get them out of here before it escalated further. He checked his watch, surprised that they let him keep it on, and checked the time. It was 4:32 pm, the last thing he remembered before he was taken was that the time was somewhere before 1 pm. He had been held hostage for a while then unconscious for the same amount of time. Why they had taken him though was still beyond him, hell he didn’t even know who anyone was.

He watched as Barry began to stir, rolling onto his back from his original position where he was propped up on his side. Blaine ran to the edge of his cage, his hands gripping the rails as he watched Barry’s eyes flutter before they opened and his whole body shot upwards. 

“Easy, Barry,” Blaine said to him, his whole body shaking unwillingly. Whether it was fear was unknown but he did know he was very happy to see Barry awake that’s for sure. Barry looked at Blaine in shock before rushing to his feet, running towards the rails on his own cage, trying to get a good look-over of Blaine.

“Good Morning, Mr. Allen,” A voice said, and Blaine watched as Barry paled at the voice. Whoever it was seemed to know Barry, and that meant he probably knew about the whole ‘Sebastian Smythe’ fiasco. Uh-oh. 

“Why did you kidnap us?” Barry asked, and Blaine watched in both horror and shock as a chair floated into the room, a bald man sitting on it. If he looked hard enough, he’d be able to see some resemblance between him and that old McKinley music teacher who had a crush on children. 

“Well, Mr. Anderson here is because my wife is in love with him and you’re here because of the Enlightenment” DeVoe explained to the duo, whilst Blaine looked down at the ground. What was the Enlightenment and why did it involve him and Barry?

Just as Barry was about to retort, a doorbell ringing caught all of their attention. DeVoe smirked as he turned the security footage on. They must’ve found out what he looked like then, considering both Joe and Harry Wells were on his doorstep, a gun in the younger man’s hands. Somehow Barry went even more pale as he looked at his foster father and friend outside of the house. He had no idea as to why they were also in Star City but they were regardless, and a knot had formed in the pit of his stomach.

“If you’ve figured out a lot about me, then you’d know that I am a teacher before anything else so let me teach you a lesson, Mr. Allen,” DeVoe began, his chair hovering towards the exit of the room, “The first lesson is about loss. Have a good day, Mr. Allen”

Barry began screaming DeVoe’s name, punching the bars to try and get his attention away from his team and onto him but it didn’t work, and in return, left Barry with very sore and bruised knuckles.

“We need a way out of here,” Barry told Blaine, who nodded his head frantically, “and we need one now”

* * *

**Unknown Location**   
**25 minutes later**

Barry had started pacing moments after DeVoe had left, trying to formulate some type of plan.They needed one if they were to escape unharmed. Barry sighed and sat on the floor, his eyes going wide when he felt his phone in his pocket. He may not have been able to speed out of there but he just hoped that nothing was blocking the signal between him and his team.

He turned it on, hope dying in his eyes as he looked at the service. One bar.. They needed two to make a call that would actually go through and a text would require three bars for it to send. Barry looked at Blaine, an idea forming in his head the longer he looked at the man. 

“We need to bring those bars down,” He told the singer, “When we do that I can get closer to the console and hopefully have slightly better service for a call.”

Blaine smiled and nodded his head, grabbing the bars that were in between him and Barry.

“Can’t you just speed us out of here though?” Blaine asked and Barry sighed.

He shook his head ‘no’ and confused the man but he didn’t question it, instead, he continued to hold onto the bars as if they were his lifeline. He just hoped that Kurt was okay, he wouldn’t be able to live with himself if Kurt was hurt.

* * *

**Foundry [Star City]**   
**10 minutes later**

Both Team Arrow and Team Flash were waiting impatiently for Joe and Harry to return after their little excursion to DeVoe’s house. Once they had finally figured out what DeVoe looked like to the outside world, they found his location and happily let Joe and Harry leave as they offered to be the ones to go confront the mad man as Cisco so eloquently put it earlier.

Iris was standing by Oliver as Oliver’s phone ran, making them all fall silent. Oliver just raised his hand though, and they all began talking to each other once more, tuning out Oliver and the phone call. He was shocked though to see that it was Barry calling him instead of Quentin Lance. 

“Barry I can’t hear you, what are you saying?” Oliver asked rather loudly, gaining everyone’s attention once more. Cisco turned to Caitlin, worry evident on his face about his best friend as Oliver began yelling Barry’s name into the phone. Once the call had officially ended, he grumbled and pulled his phone away from his ear, concern visible on the Vigilante’s face as he nodded towards both Cisco and Caitlin before running off to grab his gear. Iris turned to Felicity, worried about her boyfriend. She had been on the phone with him earlier and everything seemed fine, so she was confused as to what could’ve happened in the space of 40 minutes. Whatever did though, must’ve not been good.


	29. Chapter 29

Barry and Blaine were sitting on opposite sides of their cage--yes they managed to take the middle bars out and make it one huge cage--in silence. Blaine had his gaze drawn to the floor beside him whilst Barry was looking at every corner in the cage, trying to find an escape route. They didn’t have long until the Enlightenment so whatever they were planning they'd have to pull it off now. Groaning, Barry looked at his bruised hands, paling at the sight of his swollen and broken knuckles. Ouch..

“That’s what you get for punching some metal bars, Mr. Allen,” A female voice spoke, surprising the duo. Barry jumped up at the voice. Blaine, however, remained skeptical of the whole situation. 

“Marliese?”

* * *

**Foundry [Star City]**   
**2 hours and 22 minutes until Enlightenment**

Oliver, Cisco and Caitlin were all looking at the security footage from the alleyway from where Barry was taken, shocked to see who it was. 

“Isn’t that Hunter?” Cisco asked Caitlin, paling by the second. Caitlin silently nodded her head, hurt blossoming in her chest at the betrayal. They had all watched him die, so seeing him there really confused them all. 

“Wait,” Oliver began, pausing the footage, “Wasn’t one of Jessie’s abilities to bring people back to life?”

That cast the room into an awkward silence. No wonder he allowed for himself to get taken, he had been giving directions to do so just so he’d be able to slip away when their backs were turned and bring Hunter back to life. It was quite a genius plan really.

“We were played, again” Cisco commented, angrily throwing his hands up into the air and bringing them back down to rest by his sides. Caitlin pressed a hand onto his shoulder, calming him down. Iris, however, remained deadly silent, and it was quite frankly frightening Oliver of all people. Usually, Iris was the type of person to yell and scream until she had nothing left in her but she was being uncharacteristically quiet and it was really annoying the vigilante.

“There’s only two hours until the Enlightenment, we should focus on that, then get Barry afterwards” Iris finally spoke and Oliver looked at her, he had no idea if he should feel proud for her or not. That wasn’t an easy call but she was still choosing to make it and it made him smile. 

Cisco looked at Iris in disbelief as she continued to defend her choice whilst Caitlin just looked down at the ground, conflicted. She knew where Iris was coming from, but at the same time, she wanted Barry back just as badly as Cisco did. 

“Guys,” Oliver yelled, gaining everyone’s attention, “It’s what Barry would want us to do”

It was at that statement that Cisco just sighed and nodded his head. He would save the world before he saved his best friend, even if he didn’t like that idea.

* * *

**Back at the Warehouse**   
**The same time**

Marliese was looking at the two men in the cage, her gaze drawn back at the trembling figure of Blaine. She paled at the thought of what her husband was planning for him. She knew he planned on killing Barry after the Enlightenment success but Blaine was just an innocent bystander, brought into this whole mess by being at the wrong place at the wrong time. She sighed softly as she thought about her options, she could:

  * Help the duo escape
  * Let Blaine out and keep Barry in the cage
  * Plead with DeVoe to let Blaine out



Looking around the room, she bit her lower lip, realising there was no escape. They couldn’t go through the house, DeVoe would spot them within seconds. Groaning, she rolled her eyes at the boys and walked towards the cage, a plan forming in her head. She hoped this would work, it was quite literally the end of the world if it didn’t.

* * *

Foundry [Star City]  
55 minutes until Enlightenment

It was finally nearing the Enlightenment. There was less than an hour now until it was set to happen and so far, the teams were in shambles without Barry. Oliver was the only person holding the place together, and that was surprising a lot of people, mainly Felicity. So far, they had come up with a plan if the satellite wasn’t the one they were after. If that were to happen, then they’d send out a mass virus that has already been constructed to every satellite on the globe and hope for the best, and if that were to fail, then Kara had made sure her Earth would be more than hospitable for them and their loved ones. Sure, it was cowardly to run away, but if they didn’t, then the whole world, including Barry and Oliver, would be under Devoe’s control and they couldn’t take that. 

Oliver was watching the security footage intently as he waited for the minutes to fly by. He hated the waiting game but he had grown accustomed to keeping himself occupied in those moments. Iris was sitting on the steps by the elevator, scrolling through her phone at pictures of her and Barry. Tears were in her eyes as she looked at how happy he seemed back then, regardless of what he had been put through with bullying and his mother’s death. 

Cisco and Caitlin were in another part of the building, practising their powers as they tried to forget about Barry’s predicament. Their best friend was in trouble yet here they were, fighting to save the world he risked his life for time and time again. Maybe this is what it would be like when the Flash is gone, but they didn’t want to think that. They didn’t want that pressure just yet. 

Felicity and Diggle were watching both Caitlin and Cisco in silence. The pair never expected their lives to become this type of never-ending rollercoaster but at the same time, they loved it. Well Felicity did, Diggle just wanted some normality to his life. First, he learned that Oliver became the Vigilante after he saved his life from poison and now, he knew that Barry had become ‘The Flash’ after being struck by mutated lightning the night the Particle Accelerator blew up and he also knew an aline, better known as either Kara or Supergirl. It had really been a crazy 4 years.

“You think Barry’s okay?” Felicity whispered to John, who simply looked at her and smiled softly. 

John nodded, “Yes, I do think he’s okay” 

Felicity still looked worried about the speedster though, “He’s Barry Allen. He survived getting struck by lightning twice and he’s escaped death more times then we can count. He’ll be fine”

That put a smile on the hacker’s face.

* * *

Unknown Location  
30 minutes until Enlightenment

The plan was simple. Well, it was the most simple one they could create in the small timeframe they had. Marliese would attempt to convince DeVoe to let Blaine go as long as he agreed to never mention this to another living soul. Whilst Marliese was doing that, Barry would then wait for the signal from Marliese and then he would use his speed (yes, he had his speed the whole time and made sure Blaine believed he didn’t) to vibrate himself beyond the natural frequency and just hope for the best afterwards. 

Blaine was looking at Barry, seeing how tense the speedster was. After Marliese had offered to help them, they had taken the time to explain to Blaine the whole situation about the Enlightenment and how urgent it was that he just knew his place in the plan. They really needed this to go off without a hitch. 

“Bas, I just want to let you know,” Blaine began, sighing when Barry slightly moved his head, acknowledging the man, “That whatever happens, thank you for everything you’ve done for us” 

Barry lifted his gaze from the floor and looked at the Ex-Warbler, pulling the man in for a hug. Blaine felt the taller man begin to unwind and stop tensing and that put a smile on the Ex-Warbler’s face. 

“We’re all in this together, Y’know?” Blaine mumbled in the embrace, his smile going wider as he felt the taller man begin to laugh softly. 

“Stop quoting High School Musical” Barry retorted, putting Blaine at his arm’s length.

The pair were smiling at themselves for a little bit when Marliese walked in, a huge smile on her face as she caught the attention of both of the men. She walked towards the console though, pressing a few buttons and both Blaine and Barry watched in happiness as the cell door opened and she walked in, pulling Blaine by the arm out of the cage. 

Phase one was done, now it was time to move onto Phase two.

* * *

**10 minutes until Enlightenment**

Barry felt dread build up in his chest as a timer began ticking away on the console. He felt himself paling at the sight of the bold, red numbers taking up the whole screen.

He took a deep breath and began vibrating when he heard the door open and a whizzing sound filled the room. 

DeVoe flew down to the cage, smirking as he noticed the man was gone. He pressed a button on his chair and suddenly the cage door opened, letting the speedster speed out without a second thought. DeVoe could feel the electricity in the room, could feel the heat of the speed-force as it danced around the room, sudden bolts of lightning bouncing around the room as Barry became visible once more. Sighing, DeVoe closed the cage door and turned around, smiling as he noticed that Barry was standing perfectly still next to the console.

“Very smart, Mr. Allen,” DeVoe began slowly, “You vibrated faster than what they eye could keep track of”

The man simply smiled and sped away from the console and onto the other side of the room, this time he was beside the door; the open door. Smiling, DeVoe waved goodbye to the speedster and watched in amazement as red and yellow lightning lit up his home in one big whoosh. 

The Thinker looked back to the monitor above the console, hope filling his chest as it read _5:23_ until the Enlightenment.

* * *

**5 minutes until Enlightenment**

Now that Barry was out of DeVoe’s house, he pulled his phone out of his pocket, smiling widely as he noted he had perfect service out here. He unlocked his phone and opened his contacts, clicking Iris’ name and pressing his mobile to his ear.

It took a couple of rings but she did eventually answer.

“ _Barry?_ ” She asked, hope evident in her voice. Barry smiled and nodded his head, turning back to Devoe’s house for one final glance before speeding into an alleyway, his phone call now linked to the Comm system from his suit.

Barry held pressure on his right wrist for a second, sighing softly as he felt the familiar material of his suit climbing its way up his skinny body and his cowl forming over his head. Soon, he was no longer Barry Allen and instead, he was now The Flash.

“ _Barry?_ ” Iris asked for a second time, and that brought Barry’s attention back from his suit and onto the phone call. He pressed his right hand to his earpiece outside the suit.

“Yeah, it’s me” He replied. Tapping his earpiece twice, he managed to connect it to Gideon, and waited for the phone call to be transferred from Iris’ phone and onto the Comm System back in the Foundry. It took a couple seconds for that to happen. 

* * *

**Foundry [Star City]**   
**2 minutes and 13 seconds until Enlightenment**

Felicity groaned as she noticed their comm system had another attachment. She was just about to remove them from the system when they spoke, gaining the whole room’s attention.

“ _Remind me to never go into another Alleyway again_ ” Barry said, chuckling softly at the end. Cisco and Caitlin ran over to the console, grabbing the microphone and screaming into the mic. 

“BARRY!” They screamed, and you could practically hear Barry wince at how loud they were.

“Guys, focus,” Oliver commented as he walked into the room. He had just managed to get through to the duo that whilst finding Barry was still a priority, they did in fact have other things to worry about.

“ _Ollie, glad to see you missed me_ ” Barry sarcastically commented, making Oliver’s eyes fly open. Well damn, that was easy to help him. 

“Bartholomew Henry Allen, you’re going to speed your ass all the way back here, do you understand me?” Felicity commanded the speedster, smiling as she heard him respond with the sound of whooshing from him running.

“You need to send him the coordinates, Felicity” Oliver commented, “He doesn’t know his way round Star City remember?”

Cursing softly, Felicity wirelessly sent the coordinates to Barry’s suit and within seconds the Scarlet Speedster himself appeared in the Foundry, collapsing into a chair as his cowl came off. Caitlin began to rush over to the speedster when another voice made them all jump.

“You’ve got the wrong satellite”


	30. Chapter 30

**Foundry [Star City]**   
**The same time**

Barry slowly stood up from the chair, his blood running ice cold at the voice. He turned around shakily, tears filling in his eyes as he stared at who it was. 

“Hunt?” He asked in a small voice, hoping, praying, that this was just a doppelganger of Hunter and that the man who he had watched died was still dead but he could see the bruising around the man’s neck, and how pale he truly was. That was in fact Hunter, his Hunter. 

Hunter stared at Barry, tears filling his own eyes as he saw how close the man was to either throwing up or passing out. He wanted to walk towards the man, hug him, cry with him but he knew Barry, and he knew the way he would react.

“How did you..” Barry mumbled, tears beginning to leak out of his eyes. It was as if the words Hunter had first spoken had gone straight over his head as he forgot about what was happening to the world outside and instead he focused on Hunter.

Hunter was moments away from explaining to the Scarlet Speedster how this was all possible when an alarm began blaaring. Barry knew what that meant. He rushed towards the computer, cursing softly as they watched the sky turn purple. Seconds later, their technology switched off, leaving them in solitary from the world outside the Foundry. Oliver and Barry stared at each other, Oliver’s mask on his face and Barry’s cowl covering his. They nodded at each other and left the room, leaving Caitlin, Thea, Cisco, Felicity, Diggle, Hunter, Harry, Joe, Wally and Iris to remain in the room. The majority of them beginning to suit up.

* * *

**Star City**   
**1 minute after purple skies**

Whilst Oliver was busy helping people get out of their vehicles, mostly so then they could run away and hope for the best, Barry was busy scouring the city for the spot where he could get the best connection to the satellite for Cisco and Felicity to hack into it and implant the virus they had created. 

Barry was standing on top of Queen Consolidated, hoping to get some confirmation on where the satellite was when Hunter joined him. The two speedsters remained in silence until Hunter cleared his throat, bringing the Scarlet Speedster out of his thoughts.

“The team filled me in on how it was after I died,” Hunter began softly, walking closer to Barry, “I’m sorry that I couldn’t defend myself better against him..”

Barry just continued to keep his gaze on the sky, not wanting to show Hunter the tears forming in his eyes. This was not the time, nor the place to get into how badly it affected Barry both mentally and emotionally. They were trying to save the world here.

“Barry?” Hunter questioned the younger man, putting a hand onto his shoulder. He pulled Barry towards him, his heart aching at the tears forming in the man’s eyes. Hunter pulled Barry in for a hug, rubbing his back softly as the Scarlet Speedster began sobbing softly.

They pulled away when Barry’s comms roared to life.

“ _Barry? Can you hear me?_ ” Felicity asked, and Barry wiped his tears away as he turned his back to Hunter, his hand going to his comm system.

“Loud and clear,” Barry responded, hiding the sniffle he had when he breathed through his nose.

“ _Okay, Cisco and Caitlin need to know where they’re breaching,_ ” Felicity told him, and Hunter listened as Barry barked out his location. A few seconds later, a breach appeared, and Caitlin, now transformed into Killer Frost, and Cisco, now known as Vibe, were walking towards the two speedsters.

“The virus is ready, Flash” Vibe told Flash, who simply nodded his head. Frost looked at Hunter, realising the man had tears in his eyes himself.

Frost walked towards him, a smirk playing on her face as she did. 

“Well we can’t call you by your actual name so what should we call you?” She asked the speedster, making Flash and Vibe’s conversation die down. Soon, Hunter had all of their attention without even realising it.

“Well, my codename used to be Savitar,” Upon seeing the wince on Barry’s face, he followed up by saying, “But I’m assuming that you all have had a history with someone called Savitar”

Vibe nodded skeptically so Hunter looked at the breacher, “Looks like you can create me a dope ass name then”

Vibe grinned at the speedster before the quartet looked over at the city. The city was a lot better to look at at night rather than during the day. With the night, at least, you could enjoy the tranquility.

" _You ready, Barry?_ ” Iris asked the speedster and Barry took a big deep breath before activating his microphone.

“I’m ready”


End file.
